The Congress has accused the Narendra Modi government of misappropriation of budgetary allocations to different ministries and departments for political propaganda ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections.

What prompted the Congress to make the allegation is the unusual decision of the Centre to transfer a portion of the budgets for advertisement and publicity cleared by Parliament for various ministries and departments to the Central Bureau of Communications (CBC) under the information and broadcasting ministry.

Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said: “Parliament votes budgets for all departments and ministries of the Government of India. Each programme/scheme has a distinct budget head.”

Ramesh added: “Now, on May 19, 2023 in an unprecedented move, the ministry of finance has ordered that 40 per cent of the funds voted by Parliament for ‘advertising and publicity’ in various departments/ministries should be placed at the disposal of the CBC.”

The office memorandum of the finance ministry, while informing the ministries of this decision, said: “For effective dissemination of information about government policies and programmes in the most cost-effective manner, it has been decided to place 40 per cent of budget allocation 2023-24 of ministries/department/organisations under the Object Head Advertising & Publicity at the disposal of CBC with immediate effect.”

Ramesh added: “The CBC’s budget for 2023-24 approved by Parliament is Rs 200 crore. With the May 19 order of the ministry of finance, the budget for the CBC for the current year will suddenly zoom to more than Rs 750 crore. Clearly, this CBC (along with the CBI and the ED) will be the spearhead of the Modi government’s election campaign for 2024.”

Describing the CBC as a “super czar dancing to the tune of the PM, alias Prachar Mantri”, Ramesh said: “But this propaganda machine didn’t have enough funds. Now with this surgical strike, just like the 40 per cent commission Sarkara dislodged in Karnataka, the Modi government usurps 40 per cent of funds already allocated to ministries by Parliament and enriches the CBC.”

Ramesh further said: “Is this not de facto misappropriation? This directive is a further subversion of Parliament’s constitutional obligations. It not only ignores the expertise of specific ministries but it wholly undermines the sanctity of the budget voted by Parliament. Normally, the Government of India is referred to as the ‘central government’. Under Mr Modi, it has become a Central(ised) Propaganda Machine.”

The CBC, constituted in 2017, is a unit of the I&B ministry and claims to provide 360-degree communication solutions to ministries, departments, public sector undertakings (PSUs) and autonomous bodies.

It runs special campaigns in the media, advises the government on media strategy and works to enhance the government’s image. Its field communication division undertakes direct and interpersonal communication programmes to create awareness among people.

Although the budgets transferred to the CBC were earmarked for publicity, the nature of spending will change now. For instance, budgets allocated for creating awareness on women’s safety or water conservation can now be used for the Prime Minister’s image-building.

Former I&B minister Manish Tewari said: “This is hilarious. How can the I&B ministry, by an executive order, get spending rights on 40 per cent of publicity budgets appropriated by Parliament under separate line items specific to each ministry? This is totally illegal. It is obvious that government publicity funds would be used for political purposes in an election year.”