'Rs 77 Lakh Spent On Parali Management, Rs 28 Crore On Its Promotion': BJP Accuses AAP Of Spending More On Advertising Schemes

On Tuesday (7 January), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the ruling party in Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spent more money on advertising on certain schemes than actually spending on those schemes.

Citing data from an alleged Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, the BJP alleged that the Business Blasters Scheme was allotted Rs 54.08 crore, but its promotion cost Rs 80.02 crore, Indian Express reported.

Similarly, the Desh ke Mentors scheme received an allocation of Rs 1.9 crore, yet Rs 27.90 crore was allegedly expended on its advertisement. The Parali (Stubble) Management Scheme was given Rs 77 lakh, but its promotion used up Rs 27.89 crore.

Despite the construction of smog towers costing no more than Rs 20 crore, the BJP stated that the report alleged expenditure of Rs 5.88 crore was incurred on its advertising, expressing concerns over promotional costs.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva questioned former Chief Minister (CM) and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi CM Atishi for not making the CAG reports public in the Delhi legislative assembly.

"Despite the court’s reprimand, the Delhi government has not tabled the CAG report in the Assembly, which clearly shows Kejriwal’s fear," Sachdeva said alleging misuse of public funds even during the Covid-19 crisis.

The AAP, meanwhile, dismissed the BJP’s claims saying that the CAG report comes in a sealed cover and has not yet been tabled and that the BJP is using fake documents to push its narrative for assembly elections.