A probe report submitted to the office of Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has found that the AAP government misused taxpayers' money to expand the party's political base outside the city and separately nailed "nepotism" under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's watch.

According to documents accessed by India Today TV, the Delhi government spent Rs 1.58 crore to advertise on Facebook, YouTube and Google.

What raises questions about this publicity campaign is the target audience.

Official documents show the AAP's social-media advertisements were aimed at Goa, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, where the party hopes to expand its political footprint.

"Talk to AK", for example, is a web-based interactive programme launched by AAP purportedly to extend an opportunity to residents to question their CM.

LG'S PROBE REPORT SAYS ANOTHER STORY



But the LG's probe report has found that the project catered to audiences in other states.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led government has been jostling with the Centre for control on land, police and administrative powers over the bureaucracy that is currently in the hands of the L-G who reports to the union home ministry.

The Delhi High Court said in August that the lieutenant governor is the administrative head of the Capital and the state government must consult him on all decisions. The Aam Aadmi Party government challenged this decision in the Supreme Court, which will hear the final arguments on November 15.

Following the HC ruling in his favour, Jung formed the three-member panel to scan files to check "irregularities" and "infirmities" in Delhi government decisions over the past 18 months.

"There is no justification on file as to why the (advertisement) programme is being done. No public purpose seems to be served to the citizens of Delhi as the target audience is from other states, i.e Punjab, Gujarat, Goa where elections are scheduled in early 2017," the probe report notes.

A breakdown of the spending showed Rs 60 lakh was earmarked for Facebook to reach 1.8 crore voting-age people in Delhi, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Another Rs 25 lakh was set aside for YouTube for a pan-India audience of around 20 lakh.

According to official papers, Rs 20 lakh each were budgeted for the Google Display Network and Facebook post-event plans.

CONTRACT HANDED OUT TO PR FIRM WITHOUT BIDDING



The probe report has discovered the contract for the campaign was handed out to a PR firm, Perfect Relations, without any open bidding.

When contacted, the management of Perfect Relations said they had carried out the mandate that they had been given by the Delhi government and would not like to comment on the draft probe report.

India Today TV has learnt that a private complaint has also been filed with the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is expected to begin a preliminary inquiry soon.

APPOINTMENT OF DR NIKUNJ AGGARWAL AS OSD UNDER SCANNER

Separately, Jung's office is also probing the curious appointment of Dr Nikunj Aggarwal as officer on special duty to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain. Dr Aggarwal is the son-in-law of the sister-in-law of CM Kejriwal.

He was first appointed as a senior resident doctor for orthopaedics.

What makes the appointment, at the Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya, suspicious is that it came at a time when no such post was vacant in the institute.

"Posts are filled through advertising, but in the instant case, the appointment was done without any advertisement," notes the draft probe report of the three-member Shunglu committee.

A vacant position of faculty in the orthopaedics department was adjusted to make way for the entry of Kejriwal's relative, it states.

Also, the appointment of Dr Aggarwal was done on the basis of a simple hand-written application, without government norms being followed, according to the report.

Within three months, Dr Nikunj Aggarwal was then appointed as the OSD to health minister Jain.

What has raised the hackles of the probe team was a state-sponsored programme for Dr Aggarwal at a top institute.

According to official documents, he was sent, on government expense of Rs 1.15 lakh, to a management-development programme for senior healthcare officials at IIM, Ahmedabad.

"Being a senior resident (ad hoc), Dr Aggarwal was not entitled to participate in such types of trainings at government expense as per residency scheme of the hospital," says the probe report.

It has also found discrepancies in an order dated July 2016 of the department of health and family welfare, which approved government expenses for his trip to Beijing to attend the China Sinopharm International Corporation.

"Being an ad hoc employee, the cost of to-and-fro tickets to Beijing, visa charges and TA/DA borne by the Department of Health and Family Welfare is a clear cut case of financial impropriety. His travel to China was not in public interest as he is not a government employee. His appointment is illegal as it has been done in violation of laid-down norms. This is a clear cut case of favouritism and nepotism as Dr Nikunj Aggarwal is a close relative of the chief minister," the report observed.

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