Why double standards on government ads, KCR?

There is a proverb in Telugu: “Thaanu chesthe samsaram; avathali vaadu chesthe, vyabhichaaram” (When he does something in power, it’s romance; when the opponent does it, it’s prostitution).

That is exactly what the Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders are behaving right now. On Wednesday, BRS mouthpiece “Namasthe Telangana” published a news report attacking the Congress government headed by A Revanth Reddy for giving advertisements in the local dailies in Bihar, about his government programmes.

The daily says the Revanth Reddy government is splurging money worth crores of rupees on ads in Bihar newspapers, supposedly for election campaign purposes, even while complaining of financial crisis in the state.

But BRS leaders think public memory is short. The people haven’t forgotten KCR’s own governance style.

In 2018, his government lavishly placed ads not only in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana but also in newspapers across India in multiple languages. 

PR officers and ad agencies made massive commissions, without even checking circulation figures, spending hundreds of crores.

Namaste Telangana itself exaggerated its circulation and looted huge sums at inflated ad rates. All of that was public money — the people’s money — not KCR’s personal wealth.

Why did KCR do it? Back then, he was aiming for a national political role, claiming he could lead anti-BJP forces, even eyeing for the Prime Minister’s post, and promising to fund all opposition campaigns. 

When questioned, the justification was “Telangana brand image building.” But now, similar ads in Bihar — which are also for government schemes, not party propaganda — are being attacked.

If it was “brand building” then, it’s still “brand building” now. How can it be romance then and prostitution now? The only difference is who is doing it.

The real question is whether it’s ethically right for KCR to denounce as wrong what he knowingly did himself when in power.