Delhi LG directs chief secy to recover Rs 97 crore from AAP for 'political advertisements'

The development comes days after the AAP wrested power from the BJP in the MCD polls. The AAP alleged that the LG gave the order on the BJP’s directions

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has directed the chief secretary to recover Rs 97 crore from the AAP for political advertisements it published in the guise of government ads in 2016, official sources said on Tuesday.

The development comes days after the AAP wrested power from the BJP in the MCD polls. The AAP alleged that the LG gave the order on the BJP’s directions.

“The Delhi LG has no such power. He cannot issue such directions... The BJP’s various state governments issued advertisements that have been published here. We want to ask when will the Rs 22,000 crore spent on the advertisements be recovered from them? The day that money is recovered, we will also give Rs 97 crore,” the AAP leader said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed the LG’s order “wrong” and said it will be challenged in court.

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri of BJP alleged an “advertisement scam” and demanded a CBI inquiry into it.

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The Delhi government’s Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) in 2017 directed the AAP to pay over Rs 42.26 crore to the state exchequer immediately and directly pay a pending amount of Rs 54.87 crore to the advertising agencies or publications concerned within 30 days, the sources said.

“However, even after the lapse of five years and eight months, the AAP has not complied with the DIP order. Such defiance of a legitimate order by a registered political party is not only contemptuous of the judiciary, but also does not augur well for the health of good governance,” the source added.

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