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Lok Sabha elections 2019: Barbs fly thick as spat over pamphlet continues
While Atishi filed a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) against Gambhir on Friday, the former cricketer said he will “hang” himself if the AAP can prove the charges.
The barbs kept flying on Friday, a day after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s East Delhi candidate Atishi accused her BJP opponent Gautam Gambhir of circulating pamphlets that had “vulgar, obscene and derogatory” remarks about her.
While Atishi filed a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) against Gambhir on Friday, the former cricketer said he will “hang” himself if the AAP can prove the charges.
The two candidates received support from other political parties and former cricketers as they engaged in a bitter fight.
On Thursday, Atishi had alleged that BJP and Gambhir had circulated the pamphlets along with newspapers in the constituency. Gambhir was quick to respond with a defamation notice to Atishi, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia.
The AAP replied on Friday with a defamation notice of its own to Gambhir.
In her complaint to DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal, Atishi said contents of the pamphlet are a “combination of communal, misogynistic and casteist slurs and falsehood” targeted at her, Kejriwal and Sisodia.
“There is no doubt about the fact the BJP and Gautam Gambhir are directly responsible for this as no other entity stood to gain from spreading such virulently hateful propaganda against me,” her complaint read.
Maliwal said, “We had issued a notice to DCP (east) to file an FIR and have asked the election commission to take necessary action. We are expecting a response from the police by Saturday.”
The returning officer of East Delhi K Mahesh has written to the Delhi Police to register an FIR In the matter. Mahesh said the pamphlet, which doesn’t have names of any political party or name of publisher, is a violation of the model code and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes ( Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The Delhi Police said they are examining the complaint.
With both sides continuing to trade charges, Gambhir Friday said he will hang himself if the AAP can prove the charges. Challenging the Delhi CM, Gambhir tweeted, “If he can prove that I have anything to do with this pamphlet filth, then I will hang myself in public. Otherwise @ArvindKejriwal should quit politics. Accepted? (sic)”
The BJP, too, stepped up its attack on the AAP. Delhi BJP vice-president Shazia Ilmi in a press conference Friday said, “She first played the caste card. She is publicising it (pamphlet) and is accusing Gambhir and BJP instead of going to the police to let the matter be investigated to find out who has done it. She (Atishi) is playing the woman card.”
AAP’s national spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Why should we not accuse the BJP when BJP leaders Vijendra Gupta, Devendra Sehrawat and Anil Vajpayee have been openly commenting on Atishi’s personal life? They have asked questions that totally match the vulgar content in the pamphlet.”
Gambhir found support from his former teammates. “Having known @GautamGambhir for nearly 2 decades, I can vouch for his integrity, character,” VVS Laxman tweeted.
Harbhajan Singh’s tweet read, “I know him well and he can never talk ill for any woman.”
Support poured in for Atishi cutting across party lines.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted, “The letter circulated about @AtishiAAP is a new, distressing and disturbing low. The BJP needs to realise that it’s better to lose with dignity than to lose all dignity .”
Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani, who has been campaigning for Atishi, said the pamphlet is “bigoted” and “hateful to the core”.
