Opposition questions Jharkhand CM's photo on ad

The opposition in Jharkhand on Monday raised questions over a photo of Chief Minister Raghubar Das on an advertisement on completion of one year of the BJP-led government, terming it a violation of the Supreme Court's guidelines.

The state information and public relations department had issued a two-page advertisement on the occasion in various newspapers.

One page had a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the other carried an advertorial interview and a photo of Raghubar Das.

Former chief minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren said the BJP-led alliance in the state was running the government as an "event management" firm, and the advertisement was in violation of the Supreme Court's May 13 guidelines.

The Congress also expressed concern over violation of the apex court guidelines.

"We may approach the high court against the state government advertisement. The state government has failed to respect the judiciary by doing such acts" Jharkhand Congress general secretary Alok Dubey told reporters.

As per the court's guidelines, photos of only the president, prime minister, and Chief Justice of India could be carried in government advertisements.