Delhi, Dec 20 (PTI) Congress leader Ajay Maken Tuesday welcomed Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's decision to recover Rs 97 crore from AAP for political advertisements it published in the guise of government advertisements saying, the issue was raised by him five years ago.

Maken said he wrote to the lieutenant governor on October 4 and he had approached court five years ago over the matter.

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"I was the first one to raise this issue and also filed a complaint with the Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA). We also approached courts then. I wrote a letter on October 4 this year to the LG and glad that he took this decision," he said.

In 2016, a complaint was filed by the senior Congress leader with the CCRGA, set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, over the issue. The CCRGA had then directed the AAP-led Delhi government to reimburse the state exchequer the costs incurred on the advertisements from the party.

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The LG in his orders to the chief secretary also directed that all advertisements since September 2016 be referred to the CCRGA for vetting and ascertaining if they are in consonance with Supreme Court guidelines.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)