New Delhi:
Aam Aadmi Party’s Atishi Marlena on Sunday wrote to the Election Commission against Gautam Gambhir, her rival in East Delhi constituency, seeking a 72-hour campaign ban on the BJP candidate for holding a rally without permission.
In the letter, Atishi said this is Gambhir's second model code of conduct violation in the last three days, which makes him a "repeat offender".
On Saturday, the East Delhi returning officer had asked police to file a complaint against Gambhir for holding a public meeting in Jangpura allegedly without permission.
"Election Commission ordered registration of FIR for his first violation but that seems to have no effect on him and he continues to wilfully violate the model code of conduct showing his utter disregard for Election Commission," she said in the letter.
"In the light of repeated wilful violation. I request you to register FIR against him and bar him from campaigning for 72 hours. I hope that you will not only act swiftly on my complaint but act in a manner that serves a strong deterrent for all who wilfully violate Model Code of Conduct," she said.
Earlier in the day, the two poll contestants indulged in a war of words over Atishi’s claim of the cricketer-turned-politician possessing two voter identity cards.
Refuting the allegations, Gambhir said he possessed only one voter identity card, adding that the ruling party in Delhi did not have any vision for the people.
"I have only one voter ID card from Rajender Nagar. I used to live with my maternal grandparents as a child at Ramjas Road (in Karolbagh), but I never voted from or applied for any voter identity card from there," he told PTI.
The BJP candidate was responding to Atishi's claim that he had two voter identity cards from Rajender Nagar and Karolbagh constituencies.
He alleged the AAP candidate was making allegations against him as she had nothing to talk about with voters during campaigning.
"When you have no vision for the people or nothing else to talk about, you make allegations like these," Gambhir said.
Hitting back at Gambhir, Marlena asked the former what work did he do in the constituency to get the ticket.
"In 4.5 years, AAP government built 2 new schools of excellence, 2 talent schools, 2 university campus, 25 mohalla clinics in East Delhi and?32 are under construction. Hundreds of new jobs. Tell your vision too," she said in a tweet.
"I told what we did in 5 years. Now it's your turn, let me tell you that: 1. What did your party MP @MaheishGirri do for East Delhi in 5 years? What did you do for East Delhi in five years which BJP gave you the ticket from here," she asked.
She said no voter would vote for Gambhir as he would be disqualified soon.
"It is possible @GautamGambhir that I do not have vision, but at least, every vote I get will not be in vain! No voter in East Delhi will vote for you, because your nomination will get cancelled. So by voting for a disqualified candidate, no votes will be wasted," she said.?
She also claimed that Gambhir is not denying the charge of possessing two voter IDs.
"If my charge is wrong then @GautamGambhir, deny that charge, present the facts in order to prove the wrong! Why are you avoiding the question," she said.
A Delhi court had on Friday decided to hear Atishi's criminal complaint against Gambhir in this regard on May 1.
The AAP candidate had filed the complaint against Gambhir for allegedly enrolling as a voter in more than one constituency in violation the Representation of the People Act (RPA).
She had also raised objection over the nomination papers filed by the former cricketer which were rejected by the returning officer of the polls.
Atishi, Gambhir and Congress's Arvinder Singh Lovely have locked horns in a three-way contest in the East Delhi constituency. Delhi goes to poll in sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 12.
