‘Padharo Mhare Desh’: Cong govt in Raj reverts slogan

The Congress government in Rajasthan has rolled back the previous BJP government’s order and replaced the tourism slogan ‘Jaane Kya Dikh Jaye’ (you don't know what you may see) with an old one, ‘Padharo Mhare Desh’ (welcome to my land), on the department logo.

In an order dated January 25, the state tourism department said that the old logo will be used for all communication and publicity purposes. However, the current logo has an additional slogan in English called 'Rajasthan, the incredible state of India'.

The tourism minister Vishvendra Singh said that the department will change the logo as the message it sent was unclear and not in keeping with the rich culture and heritage of the state. "We have not changed any tagline or logo but discarded the new one as the message in the older on is clear and it connects. The new logo was just a futile brand promotion exercise on which the BJP government spent a huge amount of money," Singh said.

The BJP government had replaced the grand old slogan in 2016. They spent about Rs 9 crore for making the logo and developing the brand campaign, which included short films, social media promotion and creating jingles. The creatives were done by Ogilvy and Mather India.

Singh also added that the new tourism policy as promised in the manifesto will be ready in another three weeks and will focus on tourists, facilities and services. Many associated with the tourism industry have welcomed the move. According to Tej Singh Rathore, president of RTDC employees union, "the old logo 'Padharo Mhare Des', captures the warmth of the desert land and the hospitality." An addition of a line in English will help connect with foreign tourists, he said.

However, BJP has said that renaming doesn't matter and the new government should continue doing the good work of previous BJP government. "They should focus on good tourism and come up with good policies instead of wasting time in changing logos", BJP spokesperson Mukesh Pareek said.

In last one month, the Congress in Rajasthan has been revoking the previous government’s decisions. They renamed the Atal Seva Kendra with its old name Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra. They also reintroducing direct election of mayor and made changes in school textbooks as well.