Ad goof-up: A major blunder, says BJP; PMO apologises

By AINS,

New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday termed the inclusion of a former Pakistani air chief in a government advertisement as a “blunder” and demanded that the government take “appropriate action” against those behind it.


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“It is not a minor mistake. This is a major mistake. The government should take appropriate action,” said senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

The advertisements issued by the government’s Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) for the women and child development ministry on the occasion of National Girl Child Day had inexplicably included the photograph of former Pakistani Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Ahmed, along with such national heroes as Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag and Amjad Ali Khan.

The Prime Minister Office has also apologised for the goof up.

“This is a very serious thing, if our government officials and politicians do not know who our top military officers are,” Naqvi told IANS.

“Imagine what will happen if our government advertisement carries the photo of the Pakistan prime minister in the place of our prime minister,” he added.

“It’s a blunder. How can the ministry work in such a manner?” said another BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

However, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the media was creating “unnecessary hype” on the issue.

Asha Mehta, an activist, said: “If the matter had not been highlighted by the media, hardly anyone would have noticed the goof-up. But now that it has, it is the only thing being talked about. The focus on the girl child – which was why the ad was issued in the first place – has been lost in the process.”

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