Delhi HC asks SC-appointed panel to look into alleged waste of public money by AAP government
The court was hearing a plea filed by Congress leader Ajay Maken that accused the ruling party of issuing ads in violation of guidelines.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked a Supreme Court-appointed panel to look into the alleged wastage of public money on advertisements by the Aam Aadmi Party government. The court was hearing a plea filed by Congress leader Ajay Maken who alleged that the ruling party was issuing advertisements in violation of the Government Advertisement (Content Regulation) Guidelines, 2014.
In July last year, the court had asked the Delhi government to submit a status report on how much money it spent on advertisements, reported ANI. Counsel Vikas Singh had told the court that the Delhi government has been allotted an advertisement expenditure budget of Rs 520 crore, which amounts to Rs 1.8 crore per day.
In his plea, Maken also sought a ban on political advertisements that had any mention of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is the AAP's national convener. Last year, the apex court had said that politicians cannot feature in government ads, but permitted the use of photos of the prime minister, the president and the chief justice. The top court had also ruled that public money must not be wasted on glorifying governments or their leaders.