MLA Tenginkai Slams Siddaramaiah’s Rs 54 Lakh Monthly Social Media Spend

Hubballi: MLA Mahesh Tenginkai has sharply criticized Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his office’s expenditure of nearly Rs 54 lakh per month to maintain his social media accounts. Tenginkai questioned why the CMO is allocating such a substantial amount to a company that reportedly lacks a proper address.

This controversy arose after an RTI activist revealed through an RTI reply that the CM’s office is spending a significant sum on social media management.

Tenginkai called these expenses unnecessary, pointing out that posting on social media is typically free, yet the CM is spending nearly half a crore on this task. He further criticized the expenditure in light of various stalled projects due to a lack of funds and demanded an explanation from the CM for this spending.

In response to RTI query, officials from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) confirmed Siddaramaiah’s social media expenditure but emphasized that the amount is significantly lower than the over Rs 2 crore per month reportedly spent by previous Chief Ministers on similar activities.

According to a response from Karnataka State Marketing Communication and Advertising Ltd (MCA), a government-owned entity, the CMO spent nearly Rs 3 crore between October 25 of last year and March 2024. The breakdown of expenses indicates that the CMO paid approximately Rs 53.9 lakh each month, including 18% GST. These payments were made to The Policy Front, a company responsible for managing Siddaramaiah’s social media accounts, supported by a dedicated team of around 35 professionals.