Mufflerman Ad Row: Oppn Slams Kejriwal Govt As ‘Media-Hungry’
08 January, New Delhi
Slamming the AAP-led government over the latest TV commercial, showcasing a person imitating Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealing to people to follow the car-rationing system, the opposition parties Friday dubbed it as ‘media hungry’ and allegedly circumventing the Supreme Court guidelines.
AAP expelled leader and convenor of Swaraj Abhiyan, Prashant Bhushan, while interacting with the mediapersons said, “The present ad is a clever attempt to try & circumvent SCs order.”BJP Delhi Chief Satish Upadhaya said, ”It is the state governments massive hunger to somehow be relevant in the media.’
‘”They always resort to anarchist means. The TV commercial is yet another example of anarchy by the party. This is not a new exercise by the AAP,” he added.
Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta yesterday said through the advertisement, the ruling AAP was indulging in “petty politics”.”The CM’s act is “unethical” and amounts to encouraging people to violate the law. Technical arguments that the face is not visible won’t cut ice. As a citizen he has not set a good example,” he said.
Delhi Congress spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee said the government could have easily opted for a different advertisement format to make people aware of the scheme, which was launched on January 1 and is proposed to conclude on January 15.”It is a fascinating situation that on one side Delhi government claims that it doesnt have funds and even salaries are due to employees. On the other side you will see them paying enormous amounts of money in ads on TV and radio,” Ms Mukherjee said.
“Kejriwal does not abide by the Transaction of Business Rules. Violates the spirit of the law. Does he have no respect for institutions?” she added.
In the advertisement lasting for about one minute and 32 seconds, issued by the Delhi Government to create awareness about the car-rationing scheme, a person wearing a muffler with his back towards the camera, is found praising the efforts of traffic police and volunteers in making the scheme a success.
The person pretends to talk on the phone with the Chief Minister’s voice being heard in the background, where he is talking about the Delhi government’s odd-even scheme.