The Karnataka government reportedly gave more advertisements to the Congress party-linked newspaper, National Herald, than to any other national daily in the state. Following this revelation, the opposition BJP has accused Congress of misusing public funds.
According to government records, the state government’s advertising budget allocated crores of rupees to the National Herald. Reports suggest that over the past two consecutive years, the Karnataka government spent the highest amount on the National Herald compared to other national newspapers.
In the fiscal year 2023-24, the Karnataka government reportedly spent around Rs 1.9 crore on advertisements in the National Herald, while in 2024-25, this amount was Rs 99 lakh.
In 2024-25, the Congress government in Karnataka spent a total of Rs 1.42 crore on advertisements in national newspapers, of which about 69 per cent went to the National Herald.
BJP questions move
BJP leader and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said National Herald was “scam-ridden” and its “so‑called owners” were on bail.
“They have more advertising revenue than any established newspaper, which in itself is a scam. The so‑called owners Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the scam are under scrutiny, and are currently on bail," he said.
Nothing wrong in it, says Shivakumar
Responding to the allegation, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar stated that there was nothing wrong in it and the government has the authority to place advertisements with any media outlet.
“Any government can give advertisements to any media outlet it feels is doing its work. We have seen many other states giving ads to Kannada newspapers. What are they doing? Can we question that?... There is nothing wrong with it,” he said.
Priyank Kharge seeks details of RSS magazine fundings
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said National Herald was a legal entity and there was not any law which debars the newspaper from receiving government and corporate advertisements. He asked the BJP to provide details of funding to RSS magazine organiser.
“BJP should bother about funding of RSS magazine organiser, not National Herald. They say that they do not have bank accounts and are not registered. Here it’s clear. There is a legal entity called National Herald and government and corporate entities are giving advertisements. Is there a law against it? If there is a law, let them inform us which law we are violating,” he said.
