The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has put a spanner in the plans of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to put up huge hoardings bearing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s photographs along all the national highways.
Going a step further, the PMO has directed all Central Ministries and Departments not use the Prime Minister’s photographs without prior approval. “Photograph of the Prime Minister can not be used by any Ministry /Department without specific approval of Prime Minister’s Office,” said a note by the PMO to Cabinet Secretary K. M. Chandrasekhar.
The PMO swung into action after reports that the NHAI would soon be implementing a Rs.60-crore project erecting 1,500 billboards with Dr. Singh’s photographs. Congress president and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s photographs were also to be put on all the 20x10 feet billboards dotting every 25-km of the national highways.
Responding to a Right To Information (RTI) Act application by Delhi-based activist S.C. Agrawal, the PMO said no permission was sought from either the Prime Minister or the PMO regarding use of Dr. Singh’s photographs on the billboards.
“The Cabinet Secretary has been requested, with a copy endorsed to Chairman, NHAI, to suitably reiterate instructions to all Ministries / Departments of the Government of India that the use of photograph of the Prime Minister should be done only with prior approval of the PMO,” it said in its reply to Mr. Agrawal’s queries.
The PMO is being more cautious now regarding the use of Dr. Singh’s photographs after a recent fiasco where the Prime Minister’s photograph appeared along with that of the former Pakistan Air Force Chief’s in a government advertisement released in some newspapers to mark the National Girl Child Day. Issued by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the advertisement also had pictures of Ms. Gandhi besides several Indian icons. After much embarrassment, the PMO had apologised for the goof-up.
