Himachal: Advertisement row heats up as Congress counters BJP’s attack with data on RSS, BJP mouthpieces.

The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu – led Congress government in Himachal Pradesh is facing fire from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over what the latter calls a “disproportionate” allocation of government advertisements to Congress-affiliated publications — National Herald and Sunday Navjeevan. However, the Congress has strongly rebutted these allegations, accusing the previous BJP government of spending even more on Sangh – affiliated publications.

The row erupted after official data, tabled in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, revealed that the state’s Department of Public Relations spent Rs 97.9 lakh on National Herald and Rs 18.6 lakh on Sunday Navjeevan from January one, 2023, to February 20, 2025 — a total of Rs 1.165 crore. BJP workers held protests in Solan, Shimla, and Chandigarh, alleging misuse of public funds for party propaganda. They argued that the circulation of National Herald does not justify such a substantial allocation. Some BJP leaders even claimed the publication had ceased to exist.

In response, Congress spokesperson Naresh Chauhan dismissed the BJP’s claims, clarifying that National Herald continues to be published regularly as a weekly English newspaper from Delhi, alongside its Hindi counterpart Sunday Navjeevan. It also has an edition from Mumbai, he added.

Chauhan also revealed that during the tenure of the previous Jai Ram Thakur – led BJP government, advertisements worth over Rs two crore were issued to BJP and RSS-linked publications, Organiser, Panchjanya and Matribandhana. In addition, ads worth Rs 74 lakh were allocated to other Sangh and BJP-affiliated platforms such as Deepakmal Sandesh, Chhatra Udghosh (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad), and Tarun Bharat (RSS’ Nagpur-based magazine).

“The total amount spent by the BJP government on party-related media was around Rs 2.93 crore”, Chauhan said, citing government records. Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh also defended the Sukhu government’s actions, saying that all political parties have supported their affiliated publications while in power. “RSS mouthpieces received advertisements during the BJP’s tenure. National Herald is a national-level newspaper and eligible for advertisements under the state’s media policy”, Singh stated. With both parties trading barbs, the issue has snowballed into a political controversy — highlighting the need for a more transparent and equitable media advertisement policy.

Team Maverick