President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected the recommendation of the Delhi Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin to administer “caution” to chief minister Sheila Dikshit over the issue of alleged misuse of funds on advertisement campaign in the run-up to the 2008 Assembly elections in the capital.
The Lokaykta had in May also recommended to the President to recover a sum of `11 crores either from Ms Dikshit or the Congress party for a series of advertisements carried out in print and outdoor media in 2007-08 with the punch line “Delhi is changing.” Ms Dikshit was holding the portfolio of information and publicity when the advertisement campaign was carried out.
The rejection of the recommendation is seen as a shot in the arm for Ms Dikshit who would be seeking a fourth term in office in the forthcoming Assembly polls.
The decision to reject Justice Sarin’s recommendation comes on the heels of a city court ordering the registration of an FIR against Ms Dikshit in the same case.
But the Delhi high court had stayed the order till September 19 after the Dikshit government challenged it. The court order was passed on a complaint filed by Delhi BJP leader Vijender Gupta who accused Ms Dikshit of misusing government funds to the tune of `22. 56 crores in the advertisement campaign to secure an advantage in the 2008 Assembly polls.
The Lokayukta too had initiated an enquiry into the matter after Gupta filed a complaint in 2009. In its order the Lokayukta said, “The pattern of advertisements published by the government of Delhi and the Congress party clearly establishes a proximate and inextricable nexus between the two.”
The Lokayukta had also recommended to the President to direct the government to frame guidelines.