Delhi Chief Minister Atishi broke down on Monday while addressing a press conference over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ramesh Bidhuri's remarks against her.
BJP's Kalkaji candidate Bidhuri on Sunday courted controversy for his remarks on Atishi's surname. “How can our politics downgrade so much? He should show what work he has done for Kalkaji when he was MP for 10 years,” Atishi said. The chief minister is an AAP MLA from the Kalkaji seat.
Bidhuri said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi “changed her father” while addressing a public gathering in the national capital. Bidhuri was referring to Atishi dropping her surname from Marlena to Singh in 2018.
The elections to the 70-member Delhi assembly are expected to be held in February. The Election Commission of India has not announced the dates yet. The term of the current assembly in Delhi expires on February 23, 2025.
Bidhuri faced backlash over his remarks. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal accused BJP leaders of crossing all limits of ‘shamelessness.’
Bidhuri, 63, is no stranger to controversy. Most of the rows have been caused by his offensive statements targeting political rivals and fellow members of the Parliament.
“Ramesh Bidhuri has been an MP from South Delhi for 10 years. His party did not consider him worthy of giving him an MP ticket based on his work. When his party does not trust Ramesh Bidhuri's work, how will the people of the Kalkaji assembly constituency trust him?” Atishi said after BJP fielded Bidhuri against her on Friday.
On Sunday, Bidhuri, the former BJP MP from South Delhi, was criticised for his derogatory remarks against Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, which went viral. In the video clip, Bidhuri could be heard saying, “I promise you that I will each build road of Kalkaji” smooth “like the cheeks of Priyanka Gandhi”. He later regretted the remarks.
The AAP, led by Kejriwal, seeks to retain power in Delhi for a third time. The party won assembly elections in 2015 and 2020. The party won 67 seats in 2015 and 63 in 2020 in the Assembly Elections.
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