Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday attacked Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena for allegedly wasting taxpayers' money on alleged self-promotion and attempt to “influence” the upcoming Assembly elections after his office released a tender worth Rs 1.5 crore, inviting companies to manage its social media presence. While Saxena's office did not respond to Bharadwaj's allegations, the BJP shot back at the AAP, alleging that the Delhi government paid Rs 1 lakh per day for similar media management. Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj termed it “very shocking” that Saxena decided to “give the responsibility of making himself famous on social media” to an agency for which a tender had been issued by his office and was posted on the website of the L-G's office. "The Lieutenant Governor will use the tax money of the people of Delhi for his promotion on social media. According to this tender posted on the website of the Lieutenant Governor's office, about ₹1.5 crore will be spent annually for the promotion of the Lieutenant Governor on social media,” he alleged. “L-G Sahab, who hasn’t even transferred his vote from Gujarat to Delhi yet, is now using Delhi taxpayers’ money to polish his face. This is a matter of great shame and is a conspiracy to influence the elections in Delhi.I want to know from whom they took approval for this,” he added. In response, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor slammed the AAP, saying, “Is it not true that the Kejriwal government pays Rs 1 lakh a day to a media agency, which issues press statements on their behalf? Is it not true that between 2019 to 2023, despite the pandemic, it spent Rs 1.12 crore per day on advertising alone,” Kapoor alleged. “Before commenting on the Lieutenant Governor with bias, it would be better for Saurabh Bharadwaj to remember how his government has misused people employed in Dialogue & Development Commission and other coterminus jobs for party promotion. We have often seen coterminous job holders replying on social media as if they are AAP cadre,” he added.
