Publicity for what the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has termed its achievements as well as the Centre’s Goods and Services Tax policy has become the latest flashpoint between the political and bureaucratic leaders of the Delhi government.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has asked for action to be taken against the Director of the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP), Jayadev Sarangi, for not allowing a Facebook live session with traders to discuss the implementation of GST.
Mr. Sisodia had said in a letter to Chief Secretary M. M. Kutty that the DIP had not allowed the live discussion stating that a tender would have to be floated. But, government officials said on Wednesday that a tender would have to be floated for the publicity of the event, not the event itself.
Mishra chimes in
Former Minister and suspended AAP MLA Kapil Mishra jumped into the controversy by tweeting a letter written by Mr. Sarangi earlier this year to the AAP asking for reimbursement of ₹97 crore for ads that were seen as political and in violation of the Supreme Court’s regulations. Mr. Mishra said that this letter was the reason behind the attempt to remove the official.
Mr. Sarangi was unavailable for comment.
