A war of words broke out between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday hours after the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) served a recovery notice to the AAP giving it a total of 10 days to deposit Rs 163.62 crore for its political advertisements published allegedly in the form of government advertisements in the year 2016-17. The DIP has issued the recovery notice of Rs 163.62 crore to AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Reacting to the issue, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia asked whether the BJP will recover money from its own CMs whose ads were printed in the national capital. “The newspapers of Delhi are full of advertisements of CMs of the BJP and the Congress. Will the BJP get the Information Secretaries there to send notices to the CMs there,” asked Sisodia.

The Delhi Deputy Chief Minister said that there cannot be a bigger example of illegitimate control over officers. It is wrong to target the elected government by misusing the officers. All the governments give out advertisements.

“The BJP has exercised unconstitutional control over the officers of the Delhi Government through the Centre. The notice sent to Arvind Kejriwal is an example how BJP is misusing it for political interest. The notice has been issued that Rs 163.62 crore will be recovered from Arvind Kejriwal for the advertisements given by the Delhi government outside Delhi in 2016-17. If not given in 10 days, legal action will be taken. This is not the language of the officer. It is the language of the BJP. The BJP is occupying the service department for this misuse,” Sisodia told the media during a press briefing.

The Delhi Deputy Chief Minister said: “Through the party secretary, we have sought information on how placing an advertisement is wrong. BJP’s ads from other states are in Delhi, so we want to see what wrong ads we have given. We have written to the information secretary in this regard.”

Meanwhile, reacting to the issue, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said that the Delhi Chief Minister has “spent public money like water to brighten his face and that of the Aam Aadmi Party.”

Addressing a press conference today, Tiwari said: “We demand that the Aam Aadmi Party’s account should be frozen with immediate effect until this money is returned.”

Tiwari said that Kejriwal and his party spent the money meant for the all-round development of Delhi “to brighten up the face of their party and its leaders in other states. Today, after hearing about the recovery of Rs 163.62 crore within 10 days, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is furious and is once again showing anarchism.”

He said further: “Chief Minister Kejriwal himself should come forward and talk about this whole issue. Otherwise, the entire amount should be recovered from the accounts of the 62 MLAs, whose faces have been brightened up with this money.”

Tiwari said the BJP has no objection to the money spent on the schemes and advertisements related to the Delhi government, but looting the treasury of the Delhi government for the promotion of the Aam Aadmi Party is not justified.

The notice comes after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on December 20, 2022, had directed the Chief Secretary to recover Rs 97 crore from the AAP for political advertisements which it published as government ads.

The Delhi Lieutenant Governor in its order had directed the Chief Secretary to implement the order dated September 16, 2016 of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA) and the pursuant order of Directorate of Information & Publicity (DIP), GNCTD, directing the AAP to pay Rs 97,14,69,137 plus interest, to the state exchequer, for political advertisements that got published/telecast in the garb of government advertisements.

The three-member CCRGA vide its order directed, “the main purpose and objective of the guidelines framed by the Supreme Court of India was to prevent misuse of Government funds for the projection of image of the politician or the political party in power.”

“The Committee directs the government of NCT of Delhi to assess the expenditure incurred by it in issuing advertisements outside the territory of Delhi on the occasion of various anniversaries, on those advertisements/advertorials in which the name of AAP is mentioned, on those advertisements which publicised the views of the Chief Minister on the incidents that took place in other States, and on those advertisements which targeted the opposition.”

“After reassessment in the financial year 2022-2023, an updated amount comes to be Rs 106,42,26,121 (an amount of Rs 99,31,10,053, paid plus 7,11,16,068 unpaid). The amount to be reimbursed to the State exchequer including an amount of Rs 99,31,10,053 (amount already paid by DIP) plus penal interest of Rs 64,30,78,2121 (up to December 28, 2022) comes to be of Rs 163,61,88,265 as conveyed vide DIP’s demand notice No. F.3(16)/D1P/Estt/ Vig/2022/I0683 dated December 28, 2022 is required to be reimbursed by AAP in pursuance to the said notices dated December 26 and December 28, respectively within 10 days from the date of issue of the said notices. However, the DIP has not yet received the said amount in the account details given in the said notices,” the notice added.

It further added that “a payment of an amount of Rs 7,11,16,068 is to be made by AAP directly to the concerned advertising agencies as per list attached”.

“Now, therefore, a final opportunity is hereby given to reimburse the amount of Rs 163,61,88,265 by depositing the said amount in the account details given below within 10 days of issuing of this notice, failing which further necessary action as per law will be taken in this matter,” the notice concluded.