The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday criticized the Uttar Pradesh government and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for running an advertisement in an English-language publication with photographs of the Kolkata flyover. Several TMC leaders took to social media accusing Mr Adityanath of “stealing images from infrastructure seen in Bengal”.
“Change of UP for @myogiadityanath means stealing images from infrastructure seen in Bengal led by @MamataOfficial and using them as yours! Looks like the ‘double engine model’ has failed miserably in BJP’s strongest state and is now exposed for all!,” tweeted TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
Several West Bengal government ministers, including Urban Development Minister Farhad Hakim, said the Maa flyover, which was featured in the advertisement, was the pride of Kolkata and was completed under the Trinamool Congress rule. “Earlier BJP used pictures of law and order failures of their states to spread misinformation about West Bengal. Now they use photographs of flyovers built under the leadership of #MamataBanerjee and under my presidency of KMDA to advertise “development” in UP, Mr. Hakim said. Senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee and Lok Sabha MP Mohua Moitra also highlighted the issue on social media and slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for the advertisement.
An English language publication “Transforming Uttar Pradesh under Yogi Adityanath” in an advertisement aired on Sunday features a cutout of Mr. Adityanath of a flyover that resembles Kolkata’s “Mother Flyover” that connects the central part of the city to Salt Lake and Rajarhat. . northeastern edge of the city. The image also features Kolkata’s iconic yellow taxi and a tall building that resembles a five-star hotel next to the Maa flyover in the city.
As controversy broke out on social media, the publication that advertised the mistake acknowledged the mistake and stated that the image had been removed from all digital editions of the paper. “A false image was inadvertently included in the cover collage of the advertisement on Uttar Pradesh produced by the marketing department of the newspaper. The error is deeply regretted, and the image has been removed from all digital editions of the paper,” a tweet from the publication said.
The West Bengal BJP leadership, including state president Dilip Ghosh, tried to defend the ad saying that even though it was an error, TMC should have approached the courts instead of creating noise in social media.
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