July 01, 2026 05:10 pm (IST)

Make this your homepage

News

Ram Mandir donation theft: Six accused were employed by Varanasi-based security firm, probe reveals | Ayodhya Ram Temple donation theft: Probe says majority of money was allegedly stolen during Kumbh Mela | Commercial LPG price slashed by Rs 183.50 from July 1; check new rates in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai | Trump suffers major blow as US Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship | Delhi-Mumbai Expressway horror: Passenger bus goes up in flames after fatal collision, 8 dead | 'Dharmendra Pradhan will be responsible if anything happens': CJP warns as Sonam Wangchuk's health worsens on day 3 of hunger strike | Adani Ports seals $1.4 billion mega deal as MSC buys 49% stake in Vizhinjam port | Ram Temple donation scam: Former trust chief Champat Rai grilled by SIT for 2 hours, says report | Brazil escape Japan scare, Germany crash out as Paraguay script World Cup shocker | India overtakes Taiwan, South Korea to become world's fifth-largest equity market again

Yogi Ad Fiasco

A full page Yogi Adityanath ad showcasing development features Kolkata's Maa flyover

IBNS | @indiablooms | Sep 12, 2021, at 05:44 pm

A full page ad of the development and industrialisation in Uttar Pradesh under firebrand Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday featured an image of Maa Flyover in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal run by his arch political foe Mamata Banerjee. The Indian Express, which published the ad, owned up later that it was their marketing and advertorial team's mistake.

The power jacket ad in The Sunday Indian Express is followed by two more pages of advertorial contents.

It has come as a major embarrassment for the UP CM as it features a flyover- read the 9.2 km long Maa Flyover- which has a signature Kolkata yellow cab and the bridge painted in favourite blue and white colours of the Bengal CM.

The skyscrapers in the ad also resemble the hotel buildings on the EM Bypass. Maa Flyover, named by Mamata Banerjee after her party's Maa Mati Manush slogan, is the fourth longest flyover in India.

Transforming UP for @myogiadityanath means stealing images from infrastructure seen in Bengal under @MamataOfficial's leadership and using them as his own!

Looks like the 'DOUBLE ENGINE MODEL' has MISERABLY FAILED in BJP’s strongest state and now stands EXPOSED for all! https://t.co/h9OlnhmGPw
— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) September 12, 2021

The ad is likely to trigger a fusillade of trolls and memes directed at the BJP and Yogi by the trollers and their arch political rivals like Trinamool Congress, which rules West Bengal and aims to spread dominance in other states, and other opposition parties ahead of elections in Uttar Pradesh.

UPDATE:

Meanwhile, The Indian Express has owned up it is a mistake on their part. It tweeted that the mistake was by their marketing department.

A wrong image was inadvertently included in the cover collage of the advertorial on Uttar Pradesh produced by the marketing department of the newspaper. The error is deeply regretted and the image has been removed in all digital editions of the paper.
— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) September 12, 2021

Fake propaganda peddlers latched on to an advertorial error of a Newspaper. @myogiadityanath ji's Govt is a testimony of growth & development. The UP Govt doesn't need to borrow (that too image) from a state, on the verge of bankruptcy due to mismanagement of its Administration. https://t.co/Nz4DsHT5cp
— Suvendu Adhikari • শুভেন্দু অধিকারী (@SuvenduWB) September 12, 2021

#YogiAd #MaaFlyover

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.