AAP files complaint over BJP’s Budget ad on tax relief; but EC unlikely to find merit

“The advertisement falsely promotes Income Tax relief of up to Rs 12 lakh for Delhi citizens, which misrepresents the Union Budget 2025 announcement made by the Hon’ble Finance Minister… this Income Tax relief applies to all citizens across India, not exclusively to Delhi. The ad distorts this national policy and presents it as a localised benefit exclusive to Delhi, thereby misleading voters in the region,” says the complaint filed by Prem Sagar, a member of AAP’s legal cell.

Calling it a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, the AAP complaint says: “The MCC mandates that all political advertisements must be actually accurate and should not mislead the electorate… It is also important to note that, as per the Election Commission’s guidelines, any political advertisement must be pre-approved by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC)…”

While announcing the Delhi Assembly elections last month, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had clarified that the presentation of the Union Budget would not be affected by the MCC, but no Delhi-specific announcements could be made.

Sources said the EC is unlikely to act on the AAP’s complaint, saying it was not an MCC violation since the advertisement was issued by the party and not the government, and the party can use the government’s work during political campaigns. The EC is yet to receive any complaints regarding the advertisement, the source added.

As for the AAP’s allegation pertaining to pre-certification of the advertisement, the EC steps in for all political advertisements on electronic media, but the rule only applies to print advertisements on the day before polling and on polling day itself, said the source.

The AAP has urged the EC to direct the BJP to withdraw the advertisement from all platforms, initiate an inquiry to determine whether the BJP obtained the required MCMC approval, take action against BJP president J P Nadda, in-charge of BJP’s national information and technology department Amit Malviya and Delhi unit president Virender Sachdeva. The party has also sought a public statement clarifying that the Income Tax relief is a nationwide benefit, and not specific to Delhi.