AAP Govt's ad budget amount 'unheard of', says Lekhi

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Meenakshi Lekhi on Thursday said the over Rs 500 crore amount set for the Delhi Government's advertising budget is 'unheard of', adding that the previous dispensations used to spend Rs 10 crores to Rs 23 crores on the same.

"500 plus crore has been taken out for the advertising budget, which is unheard of, because in the past few years the budget for the Delhi Government for advertising used to be 10 crores to 23 crores. 523 crore budget has not been spent in Delhi but advertisement in Mumbai, Bangalore and Patna," said Lekhi.

Earlier, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the media should focus on the work done by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government instead of talking about other things.

The Aam Aadmi Party has reportedly set aside Rs 520 crore to fund its radio advertisements over the current financial year, in which Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will address the people of Delhi and share his government's work.

The ads, which will run with the tagline 'Jo Kaha, So Kiya', will refer to his party's pre-poll promises and the steps taken by the government to implement them.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had ruled that only photographs of the President, the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice can be used for government advertisements which are being paid for by public funds.