Headlines
Madhya Pradesh denies releasing advertisement with CM's photographs
New Delhi, May 16
Even though the Supreme
Court has prohibited the use of photographs of governors and chief
ministers in advertisements put up by state governments or its agencies,
a leading national daily on Friday came out with a two-page pull out
carrying the photographs of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chauhan along with that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two
pages, called a media marketing initiative, carry five photographs of
Chauhan at different functions and a write up by him. The pages project
the achievements of the Modi government at the centre and the BJP
government in Madhya Pradesh.
The Madhya Pradesh government,
though has denied it had released any such ad. The head of the Madhya
Pradesh public relation department, Anil Mathur, told IANS that they
were not aware of any pull-out in a Delhi paper.
Mathur said it
has already issued instructions that no photograph of the chief minister
or any other minister would be carried in the advertisements issued by
the state government or its agencies. Moreover, he said all such
advertisement had been withdrawn after the apex court verdict.
In
a landmark judgment, the apex court on May 13 prohibited the use of
photographs of political leaders, including chief ministers and
governors, in advertisements issued by the government and its agencies,
saying that it leads to promotion of a personality cult.
The
court only alowed use of photographs of the president, the prime
minister and the chief justice of India and departed leaders.
Counsel
Prashant Bhushan who appeared for an NGO in the matter resulting in the
apex court verdict says that on the face of it the pull-out appeared to
be a paid news item. If it is paid by the state government then it
would amount to a contempt of court. If paid by the party (BJP) it would
not, but then the paper has to disclose who paid for it, he said. The
papers marketing department could not be immediately contacted