K'taka CM Siddaramiah Spends Rs 54 Lakh on His Social Media Every Month, Reveals RTI Reply

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah's office spends an amount of almost Rs 54 lakh to manage and maintain his social media accounts, an RTI reply revealed.

This comes after an RTI activist Marlinga Gowda Mali Patil filed an RTI request to inquire about the expenses related to maintaining Siddaramaiah's social media accounts, as per media reports.

The inquiry was prompted after hearing about the "hefty" costs associated with maintaining CM's social media, leading to rising concerns when "development work had come to a standstill" after it was alleged of lack of funds with the Congress government reported to have been struggling to pay contractors to party for work in developments in various sectors.

Team of 30 Handles Siddaramiah's Account

As per documents accessed by Republic, the RTI report states that it's a 30-member team that handles Karnataka CM's personal and public accounts. The team has been handling his accounts since 25 September 2023.

Furthermore, as per the Karnataka State Marketing Communication and Advertising Limited (MCA) revealed that from October 25 2023 to March 2024, the Chief Minister's Office spent nearly Rs 3 crore on social media management.

With Rs 54 lakh paid every month including the GST, the payment is made to a company called Policy Front, which manages CM's social media accounts with a team of about 30 people.

Siddaramaiah's MUDA Scam:

Karnataka CM who is already surrounded by controversy over the MUDA scam, Republic TV has done a deep investigation into one of the most glaring cases of illegalities in recent times. These are land scam documents that are also in the court as it now decides whether Siddaramaiah must be investigated after Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot gave sanctions to prosecute him.