JOIN USAn NGO, which effectively helped in stopping the publication of photos of political leaders in government advertisements, has now urged the Supreme Court to bar printing of the Prime Minister’s picture also.
The apex court had on May 13 allowed publication of pictures of only the Prime Minister, President and Chief Justice of India in government advertisements after taking their due nod.
However, the court agreed to review its verdict after many state governments including Karnataka maintained the SC verdict disregarded equal share of power enjoyed by the Centre and states, besides ignoring federal structure based on grounds of “parity” between the PM and chief ministers.
The SC had then said, “one government advertisement or the other coinciding with some event or occasion is published practically every day... Photographs, therefore, have the potential of developing the personality cult and the image of a one or a few individuals which is a direct antithesis of democratic functioning”.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan in a petition on behalf of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation contended that the exception created for the PM has been used by the Union government to completely defeat the letter and spirit of the guidelines issued by the court.