Kejriwal led AAP must pay Rs 97 crore for splurging govt money on advertisements: LG

Lt Governor Anil Baijal has ordered an inquiry into the spendings on advertisements promoting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party and asked the chief secretary to fix responsibility.

New Delhi, March 29: The Delhi BJP on Wednesday welcomed the Lt Governor's decision to order the recovery of Rs 97 crore from the AAP which was splurged by the city government on advertisements in violation of Supreme Court guidelines.

"It is a matter of regret that a person (Kejriwal) who came to power promising uprightness and purity in politics today stands accused of misuse of public money," Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said.

Lt Governor Anil Baijal has ordered an inquiry into the spendings on advertisements promoting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party and asked the chief secretary to fix responsibility.

"Anyone other than Arvind Kejriwal would have resigned his position owning moral responsibility after this order," Tiwari said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government said it has not received any communication from the Lt Governor's office.

"The government has not received any written communication from the LG office. We will react only after receiving the same," an official said.

Out of Rs 97 crore incurred on advertisements, government has so far paid Rs 42 crore to ad agencies and the LG has directed Chief Secretary M M Kutty to get the amount reimbursed from the AAP.

The rest Rs 55 crore, which is yet to be paid by the Kejriwal government, would be given by Aam Aadmi Party to the ad agencies, according to the the LG's directions.

Last year, a three-member committee, headed by former Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon, had been constituted by the I&B ministry on directions of the Supreme Court to address issues related to Content Regulation in Government Advertising.

The Lt Governor has now directed the Chief Secretary to get the amount of Rs 97 crore from Aam Aadmi Party, a source said.

In a report earlier this month, the Comptroller and Auditor General had also found that the Aam Aadmi Party government spent Rs 29 crore in releasing advertisements outside Delhi which was "beyond" its responsibility.

Advertisements worth Rs 24 crore were in violation of financial propriety and Supreme Court regulations, stated the CAG report tabled in the Delhi Assembly on March 10.

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