The Congress in Chhattisgarh on Thursday refuted the BJP’s allegation that the party-led government in the state diverted the loan money it had taken from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to give advertisement to the National Herald newspaper.

State general secretary and chairman of the communication wing of the Congress Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said the BJP’s allegations were baseless and false as there was no connection with loans the government had taken to implement welfare schemes and the advertisement it released to various media outlets.

Countering the charges made by the BJP in a tweet, the Congress spokesperson said giving advertisement to party mouthpieces was not unprecedented. Even the BJP did it when it was in power.

Trivedi further said the public relation department of the state government issued advertisements for publicity of government schemes to local and national newspapers as per set standards and norms.

The National Herald is a national newspaper and hence it was selected for the advertisement, he said.

The BJP too had released advertisements worth crores to its mouthpieces during its  15-year tenure, he added.

On the allegations that the Congress government was in a loan taking spree, Trivedi said his party government, unlike BJP, was not taking loan for such construction works that involved kickbacks. 

He said the loans were taken for welfare schemes to benefit farmers and tribals and so by linking it with the advertisements, the BJP showed its anti-farmer and anti-tribal face.