Panel asks AAP to return money splurged on ads

A Central government- appointed committee on Friday asked the ruling Aam Aadmi Party to reimburse the exchequer’s money it splurged on advertisements projecting chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party in violation of Supreme Court guidelines. The committee said that the assessment of expenditure should be done by the AAP government.

The three-member committee, headed by former Chief Election Commissioner B.B. Tandon, had been constituted by the I&B ministry on the directions of the Supreme Court to address issues related to content regulation in government advertising.

The committee had received a complaint from Congress leader Ajay Maken accusing the AAP government in Delhi of splurging public money on advertisements. In its order issued on Friday, “the committee came to the conclusion that the Government of NCT of Delhi has violated guidelines issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in six of the nine areas listed by the complainant.”

The violations include “outstation advertisements, false/misleading advertisements, advertisements for self- glorification and to target political opponents, advertisements against media, advertisements mentioning the party in power by name and also advertisements issued on incidents occurring in other states.”

In its order, the panel, which also comprised adman Piyush Pandey and journalist Rajat Sharma, has said that AAP should be made to reimburse the expenditure since the violation of the Supreme Court order of May 13, 2015, has taken place. The assessment of the expenditure should be made by the Delhi government, it said.

The panel has directed the government of NCT of Delhi toassess expenditure incurred by it in issuing advertisements outside the territory of Delhi on the occasion of various anniversaries (except those tender or appointment advertisements which are outside the purview of the Supreme Court laid guidelines).

It has also directed that the Delhi government assess expenditure on those advertisements or advertorials in which the name of Aam Admi Party is mentioned and which publicised the views of the chief minister on incidents that took place in other states.