A full-page advertisement by the Uttar Pradesh government on the front page of The Indian Express, on Sunday, 12 September, has come to be heavily criticised by netizens.
The ad, titled "Transforming Uttar Pradesh Under Yogi Adityanath", consists the picture of a flyover and other buildings that are very evidently from Kolkata, as many on social media have pointed.
UP Govt Ad Shows Picture of Kolkata's 'Maa Flyover'
The ad, which consists of a life-size photo of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has a cluster of photos on the bottom left corner that shows Kolkata's Maa flyover and other buildings in its vicinity.
The Uttar Pradesh government's advertorial on the front page of The Indian Express.
(Photo: The Indian Express)
The ad consists of a quote by the UP CM accompanied by a text piece. The piece states, "Uttar Pradesh, in 2021, is a vastly changed place". It also says that the state has become India's second richest in terms of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
However, after the paper was published, many were quick to point out that the flyover shown in the ad was the Maa Flyover in Kolkata, one of the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government's flagship projects in the city. The blue and white paint, a trademark of all government projects, buildings and schemes, since Banerjee took over as chief minister in 2011, is also a giveaway.
That apart, the brown, glassed building that is shown next to the flyover is also the JW Marriott hotel in Kolkata. If one zooms in, one can also see the ITC Sonar hotel next to it. The two hotels are next to each other in the city and overlook the Maa flyover.
Further zooming in on the photo also shows the trademark yellow ambassador taxi that Kolkata is famous for.
Netizens Mock Ad
Twitterati were quick to call out the ad for showing images of West Bengal while talking about developmental work in UP.
TMC, Congress, Samajwadi Party React
Soon enough, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal hit out at the BJP and the UP government for passing off their work as that of the UP government. Many TMC legislators and leaders tweeted their indignation, some even going on to mock the ad.
Further, Congress Leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took to Twitter insinuating that the BJP government has been issuing false advertisements.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) too took a dig at the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
Reacting to the SP's taunt, the Twitter handle of BJP's Uttar Pradesh unit shared The Indian Express' clarification on the ad, saying, "the truth is in front of you."
Indian Express Tweets Clarification
After the outcry, The Indian Express tweeted a clarification saying that a wrong image was "inadvertently used in the cover collage of the advertorial".
The Quint has reached out to the UP government for a comment. This copy will be updated as soon as they respond.
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