Atishi, Sisodia hit out at Gautam Gambhir for smear campaign against them

AAP's East Delhi candidate Atishi and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday..

Gautam Gambhir dares Atishi and Arvind Kejriwal to prove their charge.

Aam Aadmi Party’s East Delhi candidate Atishi and senior leader Manish Sisodia on Thursday alleged that on BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir’s directions, pamphlets carrying derogatory insults against them were being distributed in Krishna Nagar, Vishwas Nagar and other areas of the constituency.

Mr. Gambhir has denied the charges.

At a press conference in AAP headquarters in New Delhi, Mr. Sisodia showed copies of the pamphlets. However, they didn’t bear anyone’s signature.

The pamphlet titled “Atishi Marlena - know your candidate” was distributed with newspapers in the area, Ms. Atishi claimed. The pamphlet, a copy of which was seen by media, had casteist slurs against Mr. Sisodia, called Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal “a dog,” and demeaned the character of Ms. Atishi.

Ms. Atishi broke down while reading the pamphlet during the press conference and the rest was read out by Mr. Sisodia. He said that Mr. Gambhir should be ashamed for distributing such pamphlets.

In a series of tweets Mr. Kejriwal expressed his support for Ms. Atishi. “Never imagined Gautam Gambhir to stoop so low. How can women expect safety if people with such mentality are voted in?” he said in a tweet

“Atishi, stay strong. I can imagine how difficult it must be for you. It is precisely this kind of forces we have to fight against,” he added.

Mr. Gambhir dared Mr. Kejriwal and Ms. Atishi to prove their charge. "I declare that if its proven that I did it, I will withdraw my candidature right now. If not, will u quit politics?" he tweeted. Hitting out at Mr. Kejriwal, he accused the Delhi Chief Minister of stooping low to win elections.