‘Selfie booths’ at railway stations: Mallikarjun Kharge slams Modi govt — ‘brazen waste of taxpayers’ money'

livemint.com:

Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Tuesday termed the move a "brazen waste" of taxpayers' money when opposition-ruled states are awaiting MGNREGA funds. The Congress president in a post on microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter) said, “Modi Govt hasn’t provided drought and flood relief to states. MGNREGA funds for opposition-ruled states are also pending.

But it has the audacity to generously splurge public money on these cheap election stunts!" Kharge also shared a right to information (RTI) response by the Central Railway on the selfie booths. Responding to a request by a Mumbai-based activist, the Central Railway listed the stations where temporary and permanent selfie booths had been set up at an approved cost of ₹1.25 lakh and ₹6.25 lakh, respectively. “Self-obsessed promotion by Modi Govt knows NO bounds! Absolutely brazen waste of taxpayers’ money by installing Modi ji’s 3D selfie points at Railway Stations.

Earlier, the blood and sacrifice of our brave soldiers was politically used by ordering the Armed Forces to install 822 such selfie points with a prominent cut-out of Modi ji," Kharge said in the post. Earlier in October, The Hindustan Times reported that the railway board in Delhi told general managers of 19 zonal railways to install selfie booths at stations. These booths were supposed to be designed with durable 3D fibre sculptures, acrylic boards, glass, and integrated lighting to showcase 3D sculptures crafted from materials like fibre, clay, or Plaster of Paris (PoP).