Lieutenant Governor Saxena took action against the AAP on December 20, accusing it of running political advertising under the garb of government marketing.
New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been ordered by the Delhi government to pay 163.62 crores within 10 days for political advertising that was allegedly mislabeled as official messaging.
A recovery notice filed by the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) requests that AAP reimburse 99.31 crores spent on advertisements between March 31, 2017, and March 31, 2018. The penalty on this amount is the remaining 64.31 crore.
According to officials, if the AAP does not pay, its office in Delhi and other properties may be sealed, citing a previous warning by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
The AAP has accused the Lieutenant Governor and the BJP of employing Delhi Government personnel to undermine Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party.
“The BJP is openly targeting the city government and ministers by exploiting Delhi officials. They have taken over the service department and are employing officers against us “Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister, informed reporters.
“Stop using bureaucrats to target the Delhi Chief Minister and give us the opportunity to work,” Mr Sisodia added.
Manoj Tiwari, a BJP MP, suggested that the AAP’s bank accounts be frozen and its leaders’ assets are attached.
“AAP advertised their party and their leaders using government cash, and now that they have been asked to refund it, they are unhappy.
“The BJP asks that the AAP’s bank account be seized and that the money be retrieved from the bank accounts of the AAP leaders who utilized the funds for publicity,” he said.
This is the latest episode in Delhi’s AAP-Centre conflict. The AAP accuses the Lieutenant Governor, the Centre’s representative in Delhi, of acting on BJP directions and purposefully obstructing the Delhi government at every turn.
Lieutenant Governor Saxena took action against the AAP on December 20, accusing it of running political advertising under the garb of government marketing.
According to AAP, he lacks the authority to issue such directives.
AAP’s chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj characterized the Lieutenant Governor’s decree as a “new love letter“.
“The BJP is irritated because we have become a national party and have deposed it in the MCD. LG sahab is acting in accordance with the BJP’s directives, which is causing concern among Delhi residents. The more concerned the people of Delhi are, the happy the BJP becomes “Mr Bhardwaj asserted, adding that the decree would not pass legal muster.
The power struggle in Delhi heated up after the AAP won the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) election, defeating the BJP for the first time in 15 years. As a result, the AAP now controls the municipal government and the civic body in the capital.
