In a tongue and cheek remark Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister questioned Supreme Court’s order restraining government from publishing pictures of political leaders on government advertisement, Akhilesh Yadav suggested now Apex Court should also decide the dress code of politicians. “I cannot question Supreme Court’s order. It has ordered that Chief Minister and other ministers’ pictures should not be there in Government advertisement. We will obey it in letter and in spirit. It would be better if Supreme Court decides on our (politicians’) dress code. I will appeal to the Court to issue order in this direction,” Yadav said with his tongue firmly in his cheek.
His statement showed his annoyance over the SC order but he tried to camouflage his disappointment by saying that Samajwadi Party leaders are not publicity hungry. “We do not want our photos to be published in newspapers. We want that our work should speak for us. I always believe that Samajwadi Party is good in implementing policies but very poor in publicity,” he told reporters here on Friday.
On Wednesday Supreme Court had restrained ruling parties from publishing photographs of political leaders or prominent persons in government-funded advertisements. The apex court said such photos divert attention from the policy of the government, unnecessarily associate an individual with a government project and pave the way for cultivating a “personality cult”.
As an exception to this general rule, the court held that the photos of only three constitutional authorities - Prime Minister, President and Chief Justice of India - can be used in such ads. But for that too, the personal approval of these three authorities need to be got before publication.