The Aam Aadmi Party filed a criminal complaint against cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir, who is contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on BJP ticket from East Delhi constituency, in the Tis Hazari Court on Friday saying his name figured twice in the electoral rolls.
AAP East Delhi candidate Atishi said it was a criminal matter and called for his “immediate disqualification”.
“We have filed a criminal complaint in Tis Hazari Court against Gambhir,” she said. Atishi alleged that the cricketer-turned-politician had two voter IDs, one from Rajendra Nagar and another from Karol Bagh, adding that he faced up to one year in prison for this offence.
In a tweet, Gambhir’s rival candidate said, “I have filed a criminal complaint against the BJP candidate from East Delhi @GautamGambhir over his possession of two voter IDs in two separate constituencies of Delhi, Karol Bagh and Rajinder Nagar.”
“I have filed a criminal complaint against the BJP candidate from East Delhi @GautamGambhir over his possession of two voter IDs in two separate constituencies of Delhi, Karol Bagh and Rajinder Nagar. “- @AtishiAAP#GambhirApradh pic.twitter.com/0ugPBnx0Vf
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) April 26, 2019
“Under Section 17, read with Section 31, false declaration in the matter of electoral rolls is punishable with jail time of up to one year,” she posted.
Under Section 17, read with Section 31, false declaration in the matter of electoral rolls is punishable with jail time of up to one year. #GambhirApradh pic.twitter.com/zbGJcwn78G
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) April 26, 2019
No immediate reaction was available from Gambhir.
The allegation by AAP candidate Atishi comes days after Gautam Gambhir, 37, joined the BJP and filed his nominations for the East Delhi seat. While campaigning on Thursday, he said he would work to make Delhi the “best place” to live in, and slammed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for “negative politics”.
Criticising him further, the southpaw said, “He (Kejriwal) has a very negative vision. First, he criticises the party, then says sorry to them. Now, at this time, he is out with apologies. We have been watching how desperately he is trying to join hands with the party that he used to criticise and call corrupt earlier.”