Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been asked by its own government in Delhi to pay ₹ 163.62 crore within 10 days for its political advertisements allegedly passed off as government messages.
A recovery notice issued by the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) asks AAP to reimburse Rs 99.31 crore spent on advertisements till March 31, 2017. The remaining ₹ 64.31 crore is the penalty on this amount.
If AAP fails to pay up, its office in Delhi and other properties could be sealed, officials say, citing an earlier warning by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
AAP has accused the Lieutenant Governor and the BJP of misusing officers in the Delhi Government to target Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party.
"BJP is blatantly misusing Delhi officers to target the city government and ministers. They have taken control of the service department and they are using officers against us," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters.
"Stop misusing officials to target the Delhi Chief Minister and allow us to work," Mr Sisodia said.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said AAP's bank accounts should be seized and properties of its leaders should be attached.
"AAP publicised their party and their leaders with government funds and now that they have been asked to reimburse it, they are agitated.
"The BJP demands that AAP's bank account should be seized and the money should be recovered from the bank accounts of the AAP leaders who used the funds for their publicity," he said.
This is the latest chapter in the AAP versus Centre tussle in Delhi. AAP accuses the Lieutenant Governor, the Centre's representative in Delhi, of working on the BJP's orders and deliberately stalling the Delhi government at every step.
On December 20, Lieutenant Governor Saxena had initiated action against AAP, accusing it of running political advertisements it the guise of government advertisements.
AAP said he has no power to pass such orders.
AAP's chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj dismissed the Lieutenant Governor's order as a "new love letter".
"The BJP is flustered that we have become a national party and wrested power from it in the MCD. LG sahab is doing everything in accordance with the BJP's directions and that is troubling the people of Delhi. The more worried Delhi's people are, the happier the BJP gets," Mr Bhardwaj claimed, adding that the order would not stand legal scrutiny.
The power tussle in Delhi spiked after AAP won the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) election, defeating the BJP after 15 years. Now AAP heads both the city government and civic body in the capital.
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