Macau Jibe To Advt Row: Cong & BJP Maha Chiefs In War Of Words
Nagpur: A clerical error in a govt advertisement triggered a political flashpoint between
Maharashtra Congress
president
Harshwardhan Sapkal
and BJP state chief
Chandrashekhar Bawankule
.
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Both leaders traded barbs on social media, escalating hostilities between the parties ahead of the upcoming local body elections.
The row began after a Republic Day advertisement issued by the Public Works Department for a proposed cabinet meeting in Chaundi appeared in a vernacular daily with a misprinted cost figure. Due to a missing decimal point, the advertisement showed a cost of Rs150 crore instead of the actual Rs1.5 crore, sparking criticism and speculation online.
Bawankule, addressing the matter on social media platform X, dismissed the controversy as a technical error on the part of the newspaper and accused Sapkal of exploiting the incident for publicity. "Sapkal is still very young. To go far in politics, he must first shed his childishness," Bawankule remarked, adding that the release order and website displayed the correct figure and that such manipulation was "pitiable".
Sapkal, in a pointed response, wrote: "Bawankule Saheb, I am indeed young. But I'm certainly not big enough to blow Rs3.5 crore in an hour at a Macau casino." The sarcastic remark was widely seen as a reference to earlier allegations of extravagant spending involving BJP leaders.
Defending his position, Sapkal urged Bawankule to seek clarification from the Directorate General of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR), which already admitted that the misprint was unintentional.
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"Since you are so senior, I trust you can read numbers properly. Instead of blaming the newspaper, speak to DGIPR," he added.
DGIPR officials have since confirmed that the error was inadvertent and promised internal corrective measures.
This episode adds to a string of confrontations between the two leaders in recent months. Ahead of the Congress's Sadbhavna Rally in Nagpur on April 16, Bawankule took a swipe at Sapkal, suggesting that "a rally in his hometown Buldhana would have sufficed".
Last month, Sapkal courted controversy by likening chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb during the Assembly session, prompting Bawankule to demand action against him for the remarks.
The ongoing verbal duel between the state party chiefs mirrors the heightened political temperatures as Maharashtra heads toward crucial civic polls, with both sides positioning themselves for electoral advantage.
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