AAP government sets aside over Rs 520 crore for advertisements, BJP files complaint with Delhi L-G

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi is slated to spend a whopping amount of over Rs 520 crore on advertisement for FM radio channels.

Defending the decision to make such expenditure on government advertisement, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia put the blame for the same on media.

Sisodia said that the AAP government was compelled to take the step as the media failed to show the work being done by it.

"The government is working for 24 hours. It was for the media to show what works are being done, but it is busy with other news," said Sisodia.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that the Delhi government would give all information about the work done by it through the radio advertisements.

The move doesn't seem to have gone down well with the opposition, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has filed a complaint in this regard with Delhi L-G Najeeb Jung, accusing the AAP government of overspending.

The Congress also hit out at the ruling party over the move, alleging that spending public money on "self promotion" amounted to "corruption".

Accusing the AAP government of diverting infrastructure development fund for self publicity, Congress leader Ajay Maken said, "They have cut budget from various other infrastructure development works and they are spending money on their own party workers and consultants. Is it not a form of corruption by spending more money on self publicity?"

Former AAP leader Prashant Bhushan also criticised government's move, alleging that Arvind Kejriwal government's move was a contempt of court and the issue would soon be brought to the notice of the Supreme Court.

"The advertisement brought in by Kejriwal government was in complete violation of the Supreme Court's order and it amounts to contempt of court. To think that you can do anything by way of radio advertisements because it doesn't carry a photograph would be total misunderstanding of court's order."

"If the radio advertisement is used to publicise and promote a party, government or a political leader, that would be in violation of Supreme Court's order and it will be soon brought to the notice of the court that this is how political parties are violating the spirit of court's order," Bhushan said.

(With PTI Inputs)