AAP must pay ?97 cr for ads projecting Kejriwal: Delhi L-G
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has directed the Chief Secretary to recover ?97 crore from the Aam Aadmi Party in 30 days for its advertisements projecting Arvind Kejriwal in violation of Supreme Court guidelines. The Comptroller and Auditor General had earlier criticised the AAP government for spending ?29 crore on advertisements outside Delhi, saying it was "beyond its responsibility".
New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) In a setback to the Kejriwal dispensation, Lt Governor Anil Baijal has directed that Rs 97 crore be recoverd from AAP that was allegedly "splurged" by the city government on advertisements in violation of the Supreme Court guidelines. Baijal also ordered an inquiry into the spendings on advertisements projecting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party and asked the chief secretary to fix responsibility. The AAP will have to reimburse the money within a month. The move comes months after a Centre-appointed three-member committee indicted the AAP government for "misusing" exchequer money on advertisements. Sources told PTI that out of Rs 97 crore incurred on advertisements, government has so far paid Rs 42 crore to ad agencies and the LG has directed Chief Secretary M M Kutty to get the amount reimbursed from the AAP. The rest Rs 55 crore, which is yet to be paid by the Kejriwal government, would be given by Aam Aadmi Party to the ad agencies, according to the the LGs directions. Last year, the three-member committee, headed by former Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon, had been constituted by the I&B ministry on directions of the Supreme Court to address issues related to Content Regulation in Government Advertising. "The Lt Governor has now directed the Chief Secretary to get the amount of Rs 97 crore from Aam Aadmi Party," a source said. 