Ahead of assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state is spending taxpayers money to buy Reliance Jio phones, in order to woo voters.
The Raman Singh-led government has spent ₹1,500 crore on 50 lakh free Reliance Jio phones for voters. The phones come with pre-set wallpaper, which is Singh’s face. NaMo and Raman apps come pre-installed in the phones, “presumably to hoover away user data”, said political analyst Amitabh Dubey.
CM Raman Singh had announced last year that the Chhattisgarh government will give free phones to over 55 lakh people in the state.
But it appears that the BJP is only aiming to woo voters with taxpayer-funded phones. This measure will also benefit Mukesh Ambani-owned telecom major Reliance Jio. The only sufferers are the taxpayers, whose money is being used for the interests of a political party and a corporation.