Recover Rs 97 cr from AAP for ads, LG tells Chief Secy

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 29

In a major setback for the Kejriwal government, Lt Governor Anil Baijal has directed Delhi Chief Secretary to recover Rs 97 crore from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for advertisements projecting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party allegedly in violation of the Supreme Court guidelines.

Baijal also ordered a probe into the spending on advertisements featuring the Chief Minister and his party and asked the Chief Secretary, M M Kutty, to fix responsibility. Sources in the LG Office confirmed saying the AAP will have to reimburse the money within a month.

The development came months after a Centre-appointed three-member committee headed by former Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon, indicted the AAP government for “misusing” public money on advertisements.

According to the LG office, of Rs 97 crore incurred on advertisements the government has so far paid Rs 42 crore to ad agencies and the remaining Rs 55 crore, which is yet to be paid by the Kejriwal government, would be given by the Aam Aadmi Party to the ad agencies as directed by Baijal.

Last year, the three-member panel was constituted by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on directions of the Supreme Court to address issues related to Content Regulation in Government Advertising.

It is worth remembering that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report tabled in the Delhi Assembly on March 10 also found that the AAP dispensation spent Rs 29 crore in advertisements outside Delhi which it said was beyond its responsibility.

The watchdog also said advertisements worth Rs 24 crore released by it were in violation of financial propriety and the Supreme Court regulations.