Dehradun : State Govt. should issue a “white paper” on the distribution of crores of rupees in advertisements by the Information Department : Abhinav Thapar

• The appointment of the Chief Minister’s National Media Coordinator is under suspicion!

Dehradun :Congress leader Abhinav Thapar held a press conference from the Congress headquarters and exposed the case of distribution of crores of rupees by the Information Department to unknown magazines outside. According to the information received, on 13.01.2022, the Information Department issued an advertisement order of 72 lakhs to a magazine (Khabar Manak) which was only 6 months old, which did not have special circulation or identity at the Uttarakhand and national level. According to sources, it is also reported that even after this, advertisements worth crores of rupees have been given to the said magazine by keeping all the rules at bay. It is noteworthy that this magazine started from Delhi in 2021 itself and the main people of this magazine are also from outside Uttarakhand.

News has come through social media that the editor-in-chief of the said magazine, Archana Rajhans, has been appointed as the “National Media Coordinator” by the Chief Minister. National Media Coordinator is a very important post and to appoint it, the government issues orders and releases on its behalf, but no such document is available in the public domain. Archana Rajhans, who has 92 followers, confirmed herself to be the “National Media Coordinator of Uttarakhand Chief Minister” through her X–Account ID. After protest on social media, Archana Rajhans immediately removed this post from her X Account, but even today she campaigns for the Chief Minister in the top pinned tweet.

Congress spokesperson Abhinav Thapar has the following questions to the government and the Information Department:-

1. On the basis of which standards were advertisements worth lakhs/crores of rupees issued to Khabar Manak and all such external magazines and portals? What is their circulation/reach in the country or in Uttarakhand, this should be told to the people of the state?

2. How much advertising money was issued by the Information Department to Khabar Manak and all such external magazines and portals from 2021 till date and what standards were observed in it?

3. If crores of rupees from the Uttarakhand government treasury were distributed to Khabar Manak and similar agencies by flouting the rules, then what is the provision for recovery with interest?

4. On the basis of which documents or appointment letter did Khabar Manak’s editor-in-chief Archana Rajhans ji write herself as National Media Coordinator Chief Minister Uttarakhand on social media? And if there were no documents, then the Information Department should immediately register a case against the person who made a fake appointment of the Uttarakhand government and take legal action.

5. There should be an immediate investigation into “how many and when were advertisements of more than 2 lakh rupees distributed to which outside magazines from Uttarakhand,” and the Information Department, Uttarakhand government should issue a white paper on this subject.

Congress spokesperson Abhinav Thapar said that the state of Uttarakhand is a state drowned in a debt of more than 1 lakh crore rupees and even after this, if crores of rupees are distributed to any external, unnecessary, contrary to the norms magazine, magazine or portal, then it is open loot of the public’s money. Immediate legal action should be taken against the culprits and action should be taken to recover the misappropriated government money. This is like throwing dust in the eyes of the people of Uttarakhand, which the Congress party strongly opposes. Along with Congress spokesperson Abhinav Thapar, Amarjit Singh, Suleman Ali, Mohan Kala, Mohit Mehta, Divesh Uniyal, Dinesh Chauhan, Gul Mohammad, etc. participated in the press conference.