AAP govt to challenge advt panel's order in court

New Delhi, Sep 17: The Delhi government will challenge in the court the order of a Central government appointed panel that indicted the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation for "splurging" exchequer's money on advertisements, as it questioned the committee's neutrality.

The AAP alleged that it was a "ploy to defame" the Kejriwal government by the "beneficiaries" of 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," said a government spokesperson.

AAP leader Ashutosh said the Committee's remarks were an apt example of Congress and BJP coming together as the panel gave its report on the complaint filed by DPCC president Ajay Maken against the Delhi 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 panel also comprised adman Piyush Pandey and journalist Rajat Sharma. "This is nothing but a ploy to target and defame the Delhi government.

The committee required people of impeccable neutrality and those who could 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 Modi.

So, how can one expect a fair report," Ashutosh alleged even as he refrained from attacking Tandon. 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.

He also said the Delhi government will explain its stand before the Supreme Court. In its report, the committee came down heavily on the AAP government, saying it had splurged exchequer's money on advertisements projecting Kejriwal and his party in violation of the Supreme Court guidelines and asked the ruling party to reimburse.

The panel had been constituted by the I&B ministry on directions of Supreme Court to address issues related to Content Regulation in Government Advertising.

PTI