On Sunday, a full-page advertisement published in the newspaper to enhance the image of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath grabbed a lot of attention from the netizens. The advertisement was titled ‘ Transforming UP under Yogi Adityanath‘. It was published in The Indian Express.
However, the advertisement caught the attention of the people as they noticed Kolkata’s Maa Flyover in the picture. People were quick to spot Kolkata’s iconic taxis in the picture as well. One person wrote on Twitter “Dear Yogi Adityanath ji, whoever approved these images, please do tell them the flyover appears to be from Kolkata-the Maa Flyover. I can also spot a yellow taxi. And those tall buildings are the JW Marriot, also in Kolkata and by the same flyover if I am not mistaken.”
The advertisement showed Yogi Adityanath towering over tall buildings to show the development work undertaken by him in Uttar Pradesh. Though, UP is considered one of the most under-developed states in India. However, this advertisement landed the BJP government in controversy rather than ‘highlighting development’.
The Indian Express Clarification
Soon after the post started spreading, The Indian Express newspaper which carried the advertisement expressed regrets. They tweeted, “A wrong image was inadvertently included in the cover collage of the advertorial on Uttar Pradesh produced by the marketing department of the newspaper. The error is deeply regretted and the image has been removed in all digital editions of the paper.”
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O’Brien who has been associated with the newspaper for a long time confirmed that the images are approved before being released in the media. In a press conference, he said that ” Imitation is the best form of flattery. The only positive part is that BJP is acknowledging the great work done by the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal”
However, TMC MPs like Abhishek Banarjee and Firhad Hakim ridiculed the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh. Abhishek Banarjee, the nephew of Mamta Banarjee said at least BJP is ‘indirectly’ accepting the development done by the TMC government in West Bengal. Mukul Roy, Senior leader in TMC targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and wrote on Twitter “Mr. Narendra Modi is so helpless to save his party that other than changing CMs, he has also had to resort to using pictures of growth & infrastructure seen under Mamta Banarjee’s leadership, as his own.”
Yogi Adityanath is one of the most prominent leaders of the BJP. Uttar Pradesh people are all set to get to the polls in 2022. Also, Yogi Adityanath did not react to the controversy.
