Mumbai: Following criticism from the Opposition and on social media over the decision to spend ₹5.98 crores on deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s social media publicity, the order has now been scrapped.  The state government had on Wednesday issued a government resolution (GR), giving its nod to hire a private agency for the publicity of the schemes and decisions by Pawar on social media and increase his outreach.

After the media reports on the decision emerged, the Opposition strongly criticised the deputy chief minister for spending such a huge amount on publicity during the pandemic. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader also faced criticism on social media, following which his office issued a statement on Thursday announcing that the proposal has been cancelled. “The deputy chief minister has directed to immediately scrap the order as he feels that there is no need of appointing a private agency. His office does not feel the need to be active independently on social media as the publicity department of the government is sufficient for it. The office will continue to rely on the publicity department of the government for the communication with media and public. Eyebrows were raised over the order issued yesterday as the deputy chief minister has always believed to be away from unnecessary publicity. He has ordered to cancel the said order,” the statement read. BJP leader Atul Bhatkhalkar said, “After we raised the voice, the deputy chief minister has cancelled the order. It should also be done by the CM too amid the financial crisis in the state during the pandemic.”

NCP spokesperson and state minority affairs minister Nawab Malik said the proposed expenditure on publicity was very less in the comparison to the money spent by the previous Devendra Fadnavis government.