Terming it a defamation “ploy,” the Delhi government will challenge the order of a Central government appointed panel that indicted the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation for “splurging” exchequer’s money o
Terming it a defamation “ploy,” the Delhi government will challenge the order of a Central government appointed panel that indicted the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation for “splurging” exchequer’s money on advertisements. The government said it will move court as it questioned the committee’s neutrality.
AAP alleged that it was a “ploy to defame” the Kejriwal government by the “beneficiaries” of the Narendra Modi government and BJP. “The Delhi government will challenge the very composition of the committee and its biased findings since the Centre is an interested party. It (the Centre) has done a number of flip-flops in the case,” a government spokesperson said.
“This is nothing but a ploy to target and defame the Delhi government. The committee requires people of impeccable neutrality and those who can do their job without showing any bias or partiality. But two members of the panel are either linked to the BJP or are beneficiaries of Mr Modi. So, how can one expect a fair report,” AAP leader Ashutosh alleged.
The three-member committee, headed by former Chief Election Commissioner BB 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 panel also comprised adman Piyush Pandey and journalist Rajat Sharma.
The AAP leader alleged that of the two panel members, one is linked to BJP since his college days while the other chalked out a campaign for Modi during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Earlier in the day, Delhi home minister Satyendar Jain lashed out at the BJP-controlled MCDs for spending money, meant for dengue and chikungunya awareness, on “self-glorification” and claimed that the AAP government has “not violated” any guideline of the Supreme Court. “They (MCD) are spending public money for glorifying its image. The money meant for awareness on dengue and chikungunya has been spent on self-glorification,” the city home minister said.
On Friday, a three-member panel constituted by the Centre had indicted the city government of splurging on advertisements for promoting chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP in violation of the apex court guidelines.
