Kejriwal should be ashamed of his TV ad

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has once again flouted rules and has proved that he is always eager to take on constitutional bodies.

The Supreme Court, by way of its May 13 order, had banned government advertisements from carrying pictures of anyone but the president, the chief justice of India and the prime minister in government-sponsored advertisements. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-ruled Delhi was one of the first state governments to announce that it would comply with the court order. Subsequently, it also pulled down all government-sponsored billboards with Kejriwal’s photographs dotting throughout the national capital.

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But if you have watched TV in the last few days, you would have seen Kejriwal addressing the people on the Odd-Even formula wearing his trademark muffler and sweater. The Delhi chief minister is seen from behind. His face is hidden in order to evade the Supreme Court's order.

While Kejriwal's "jugaad" - to be seen on TV advertisement despite the court order - has the possibility of landing him in trouble, he is certainly setting a bad precedent. He is the first politician to circumvent the apex court's order which aims at checking wasteful expenditure by leaders in power of taxpayers' money on releasing ads in print and TV media.

As expected, Kejriwal has found out loopholes in the judgment to circumvent the ban imposed by the Supreme Court. It can be likened to the ads of liquor companies which publicise sodas and mineral water after they being banned from advertising hard drinks.

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In August 2015, after the murder of a girl in Anand Parbat, Kejriwal had released an ad with his voiceover in the backdrop of a candle in the dark, instead of his face. But this time around, he has moved several steps ahead to circumvent the rule.

So far, the other politicians have been obeying the Supreme Court order. They have switched over to Twitter, Facebook and other social media to issue ads with their faces. But Kejriwal has certainly set a bad precedent. He has shown the others a way to beat the rule. If this is not nipped in the bud, the others will follow suit. In the process, the very purpose of checking wastage of money will be defeated.