Oops, Gujarat Cong shoots itself in the foot with Lanka picture in malnourishment ad ahead of polls
Advertisement faux pas is nothing new for GujaratCongress . While the party eulogised its arch rival Narendra Modi early this year as a master strategist, it now finds itself in an embarrassing controversy over an advertisement showing malnutrition in Gujarat.
Allegedly, the picture that has been used to show malnutrition in Gujarat in a widely circulated Congress advertisement is basically one shot in Sri Lanka after the island nation was ravaged by a flood.
The advertisement, appeared in a series of ad campaign under the slogan “Join Hands for Congressâ€, claims that 45 per cent of the children in Gujarat are malnourished.
The faux pas came to light when a pro-BJP website compared the two pictures and put a link to Christian Charity organisation that had the original image. While initially the debate caught the fancy of the netizens in a big way, the BJP wasted no time in coming down on the Congress on the issue.
Congress, meanwhile, blamed the advertising agency assigned with the task for the mistake.
As a matter of fact, BJP national spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman raked up the issue in a media interaction at Ahmedabad on Monday and said that the way this image has been used to tarnish Gujarat’s image only betrays the desperation of Congress and its lack of commitment to Gujarat. She further criticised this as a “heartless way†of projecting Gujarat and said that the Congress should apologise to the people of Gujarat for the misrepresentation.
Meanwhile, Congress campaign managers went into defensive on the advertisement. Pinning the blame on the advertising agency, senior Congress leader Siddharth Patel said that the image has been used as a symbol and the fact that this particular image is not of a Gujarati child does not wash away the fact that 45 per cent children in the state are malnourished.
He also accused the BJP of trivialising the core issue of malnutrition by deviating the debate upon the use of a symbolic image.
Advertisement faux pas is nothing new for GujaratCongress . While the party eulogised its arch rival Narendra Modi early this year as a master strategist, it now finds itself in an embarrassing controversy over an advertisement showing malnutrition in Gujarat.Allegedly, the picture that has been used to show malnutrition in Gujarat in a widely circulated Congress advertisement is basically one shot in Sri Lanka after the island nation was ravaged by a flood.
Finding itself in an awkward situation, the Congress in an effort to counter the BJP charge, alleged that the ruling party was deflecting the main issue of malnutrition.
The faux pas came to light when a pro-BJP website compared the two pictures and put a link to Christian Charity organisation that had the original image. While initially the debate caught the fancy of the netizens in a big way, the BJP wasted no time in coming down on the Congress on the issue.
Congress, meanwhile, blamed the advertising agency assigned with the task for the mistake.
Congress has blamed the advertising agency assigned with the task for the mistake.
Meanwhile, Congress campaign managers went into defensive on the advertisement. Pinning the blame on the advertising agency, senior Congress leader Siddharth Patel said that the image has been used as a symbol and the fact that this particular image is not of a Gujarati child does not wash away the fact that 45 per cent children in the state are malnourished.
He also accused the BJP of trivialising the core issue of malnutrition by deviating the debate upon the use of a symbolic image.
