PM Modi draws flak for Reliance Jio ad

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photograph on Reliance’s 4G service advertisement has elicited criticism from many quarters with BJP ally Shiv Sena being the first to slam the PM on Friday.

The Congress and NCP also criticised the PM and demanded his office should have taken note of the advertisement and taken appropriate action for using the Mr Modi’s image.

In a series of tweets, Shiv Sena MP from south Mumbai Arvind Sawant expressed his anger against the PM. He wanted to know how Reliance JIO, being a private company, had used the photograph of PM. “Who is in whose Mutthi ” Mr Sawant tweeted.

In another tweet, Mr Sawant said that free calling could benefit the common man, but such a revolution should be brought about by public sector units.

In his earlier tweets, the Sena MP has questioned the government rules. He said MTNL/BSNL had served the country for more than 50 years. So, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) should allow MTNL/BSNL to undertake schemes such as ‘Free calling for Life Time’ as offered by Reliance. He said such a scheme would ruin the entire telecom sector and demanded to know the government stand on it.

Later, speaking over the phone, Mr Sawant said the advertisements were shocking and cause loss to government-run telecom companies such as BSNL and MTNL. Mr Sawant has been leading a union in MTNL for a long time.

Congress state president and MP Ashok Chavan objected to the use of the PM’s name and photo in Reliance’s advertisement. “Involving the PM in such a widely published advertisement is surprising and objectionable. A PM’s name was never before used to promote a product in the country. The PMO should intervene and stop the private company from misusing the PM’s name,” Mr Chavan said.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre and said the advertisement had exposed its ties with big industrialists. “The company using the PM’s name and Mr Modi using the company is now an open secret,” he said.