Atishi, Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate from East Delhi Lok Sabha seat, broke down at a press conference on Thursday where she accused cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir of distributing pamphlets with derogatory remarks against her.

Atishi, who was accompanied by Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia during a press conference, broke down as she read out the pamplet in front of reporters. She said she had welcomed Gambhir, a former cricketer, when he entered politics but now the BJP has stooped to an unexpected level.

AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that he never imagined Gautam Gambhir to stoop so low. “How can women expect safety if people wid such mentality are voted in? Atishi, stay strong. I can imagine how difficult it must be for u. It is precisely this kind of forces we have to fight against,” he tweeted.

Gautam Gambhir blamed Arvind Kejriwal for the pamphlets and said he will withdraw his candidature if the charges are proven. He dared Kejriwal to quit politics if the charges were found to be wrong. “I abhor your act of outraging a woman’s modesty @ArvindKejriwal and that too your own colleague. And all this for winning elections? U r filth Mr CM and someone needs ur very own jhadu to clean ur dirty mind,” he tweeted.

Manish Sisodia said the “language in the pamphlet is so abusive and low that everybody will feel ashamed while reading it.”

Atishi has accused Gautam Gambhir of holding two voter identity cards—one from one from Karol Bagh and another from Rajinder Nagar. She has moved a Delhi court claiming a violation of the Section 125A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Gambhir has dismissed the charges as “negative politics”.

First Published: May 09, 2019 15:20 IST