Aam Aadmi Party, whose founding principles declared a commitment to eschewing the sort of wasteful expenditure that traditional political parties are often accused of is once again under question.
By allocating nearly 500 crores to publicise itself, Arvind Kejriwal’s government is not out of line with either its own principles or public opinion, said party leaders today.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the government is obliged to advertise its policies Sisodia and AAP government was compelled to take the step as the media failed to show the work being done by it. As compared to about Rs. 24 crore last year, Rs. 500 crores have been set aside for promoting the government and its projects over the next year.
Former AAP leader Prashant Bhushan also criticised government’s move, alleging that Arvind Kejriwal government’s move was a contempt of court and the issue would soon be brought to the notice of the Supreme Court.
“The advertisement brought in by Kejriwal government was in complete violation of the Supreme Court’s order and it amounts to contempt of court. To think that you can do anything by way of radio advertisements because it doesn’t carry a photograph would be total misunderstanding of court’s order.”
“If the radio advertisement is used to publicise and promote a party, government or a political leader, that would be in violation of Supreme Court’s order and it will be soon brought to the notice of the court that this is how political parties are violating the spirit of court’s order,” Bhushan said.
Dear AAP,
Your actions will speak for you, not promotions. You won Delhi election with a whopping majority because voters were impressed with your 49 days of work. You secured 67 seats because voters trusted you and not because of publicity or promotions. People will choose you once again if you keep on delivering and stick to your founding principles. Good work needs no publicity, at least not a whopping 500 crore budget.
Kindly use these funds for more productive purposes that would benefit the common man.