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EC should probe source of funds for ad film, demands Babbar

Atiq Khan

The Samajwadi Party advertisement features Amitabh Bachchan

LUCKNOW: The president of the Jan Morcha Alliance, Raj Babbar, on Wednesday demanded that the Election Commission of India find out the source of funds for the Samajwadi Party advertisement featuring actor Amitabh Bachchan.

Mr. Babbar said the ad film was being aired on news channels during prime time. The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee made a similar demand on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Babbar wondered whether Mr. Bachchan was the brand ambassador of Uttar Pradesh or the SP. If he was the brand ambassador of Uttar Pradesh then in what capacity did he figure in the ad, which was essentially the party's publicity campaign, he asked. He said the money spent on the ad should be included in the election expenses of the ruling party.

Claiming that TV channels were offered a Rs. 5 crore package per week for airing the ad on prime time, Mr. Babbar demanded that the Commission work out the cost of showing the advertisement during prime time. Mr. Babbar denied that a written complaint in this regard was sent to the poll panel.

The Jan Morcha Alliance was a movement and preferred to take contentious issues to the people's court, he added.

Meanwhile, Energy and PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav denied that the ruling party funded Mr. Bachchan's ad film.

Mr. Yadav said at a press conference that he was unaware of the source of funds for the film but maintained that the party did not make the payment to Mr. Bachchan.

On the Nithari serial killings, while welcoming the CBI's findings, Mr. Babbar demanded that the name of the SP leader "who tried to block the investigations by exerting pressure on the Noida police" be revealed. Mr. Babbar pointed to a "deeper conspiracy" in the serial killings and added that the U.P. police should redeem its image.

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