Public funds being used to build brand Kejriwal?

BJP wants TV advertisement withdrawn as it brands politicians, officials and media as villains

GN Bureau | June 20, 2015


#aap   #arvind kejriwal   #bjp   #congress   #television   #tv   #advertisement  

The Bharatiya Janata Party has termed the advertisement of the AAP-led Delhi government that is being broadcast on television channels as a "violation" of the supreme court's order and threatened to approach the apex court. The BJP wants it be withdrawn soon.

The advertisement campaign is a two-minute TV spot in which it makes claim that Kejriwal has money to spare for improving the life of people because of what he has saved by stopping corruption. The campaign is expected to run for a week and the slots have cost the state exchequer about Rs 1.5 crore.

Decrying "personality cult" as an anti-thesis of democracy, the SC had recently barred publication of photos of leaders in government advertisements except those of the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India.

The BJP has objected to the implied meaning of the advertisement. BJP's national secretary R P Singh said even though chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's face is not seen, the way his name has been repeatedly taken as a 'messiah of poor' while leaders of other political parties, administrative officials and media have been projected as villains was a gross "violation" of apex court's order.

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit called the advertisement as ‘pathetic’ and said that it only glorified Kejriwal as an equal to god.

“I have never seen such an advertisement anywhere in India where a person is glorified almost to be equal to God perhaps that is what [Arvind] Kejriwal ji thinks he is. It is complete misuse of money and it is full of lies,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Swaraj Abhiyaan has termed the Delhi government's latest TV commercials as an example of "political corruption" and "highly regressive". Swaraj Abhiyaan leader Prashant Bhushan in a series of tweets said the ad amounted to a "crass" projection of Kejriwal apart from being "crude abuse" of funds, which was "against" a supreme court order.

"Apart from being a crass and crude abuse of funds the Kejriwal ad on TV is sexist and projects women as servants of their husbands. Shocking," Bhushan, a senior Supreme Court lawyer tweeted.

The group, of which Yogendra Yadav is also a member, also attacked the ad for being "misleading" as it came in the backdrop of "6 per cent rise in power tariffs."

"The heart of the problem, however, is that this TV commercial unashamedly abuses public funds to create a personality cult for Arvind Kejriwal. It sings paeans of the AAP leader and tries to project him as a messiah," added the statement.

Comments

 

Other News

New pathways for tourism growth

Traditionally, India’s tourism policy has been based on three main components: the number of visitors, building tourist attractions and providing facilities for tourists. Due to the increase in climate-related issues and environmental destruction that occurred over previous years, policymakers have b

Is the US a superpower anymore?

On April 8, hours after warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight,” US president Donald Trump, exhibiting his unique style of retreating from high-voltage brinkmanship, announced that he agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The weekend talks in Islamabad have failed and the futur

Machines communicate, humans connect

There is a moment every event professional knows—the kind that arrives without warning, usually an hour before the curtain rises. Months of meticulous planning are in place. And then comes the call: “We’ll also need a projector. For the slides.”   No email

Why India is entering a ‘stagflation lite’ phase

India’s macroeconomic narrative is quietly shifting—from a rare “Goldilocks” equilibrium of stable growth and contained inflation to a more fragile phase where external shocks are beginning to dominate domestic policy outcomes. The numbers still look reassuring at first glance: GDP

Labour law in India: A decade of transition

The story of labour law in India is not just about laws and codes, but also about how the nation has continued to negotiate the position of the workforce within its economic framework. The implementation of the Labour Codes across the country in November 2025 marks a definitive endpoint in the process. Yet

Time for India to build genuine resilience in energy security

There is a strip of water barely 33 kilometres wide between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world`s oceans. For most of India`s history, it was a distant geographic fact. Since late February, it has been a kitchen problem.   The Strait of Hormuz. T


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter