Gautam Gambhir sent a defamation notice through Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s daughter Sonali Jaitley to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Atishi.
NEW DELHI: Manish Sisodia said the alleged impersonator is a Congress leader.
Gautam Gambhir, the BJP’s East Delhi candidate, has placed his “duplicate” to campaign for him as he has a problem with the heat, Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged on Friday, amid the ongoing tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP over the controversial pamphlet against AAP candidate Atishi. The AAP leader, in a couple of tweets, also shared the pictures of the alleged impersonator, who, he says, is a Congress leader.
“Have heard about a stunt double in movies, a runner in cricket, but have seen a duplicate in campaign for the first time,” Mr Sisodia tweeted in Hindi.
“This is the mahamilawat between the Congress and the BJP. Gautam Gambhir is sitting in an air conditioned car. He has problem with the heat. In his place, a duplicate wearing a cap is standing. Workers are garlanding the duplicate Gambhir. And this duplicate is a Congress leader in reality,” he added.
The East Delhi constituency is turning out to be the most hard-fought seat in Delhi, with a pitched battle raging on between the two candidates– Gautam Gambhir and Atishi.
The AAP candidate had recently raised technical objections, seeking Mr Gambhir’s nomination. The requests were turned down by the Election Commission.
On Thursday, Atishi broke down at a press conference called by the AAP, where leaders displayed a pamphlet full of religious and sexist attacks on the candidate. “If Gambhir can stoop so low to defeat a strong woman like me, how can he ensure security for women as an MP?” asked the 37-year-old Oxford alumnus.
On Friday, Mr Gambhir, who had denied the allegation, sent a defamation notice through Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s daughter Sonali Jaitley to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Atishi. The AAP candidate also filed a complaint against her BJP rival with the Delhi Commission For Women.The women’s body had asked the police whether it had filed a First Information Report or FIR over the circulation of the derogatory pamphlets.
Mr Sisodia has also warned Mr Gambhir that he would send a defamation suit.
“How is he filing a defamation case? We are the ones being defamed, we will file a defamation case against him. We will try to send a defamation notice to him today. His party has endorsed the pamphlets and he has not questioned that,” the Delhi Education Minister told NDTV
Delhi will vote in the sixth phase of the national election on May 12. The counting of votes will begin on May 23.
