Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Tearfully Criticizes BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri for Attacking Her Father

New Delhi, Jan 6 (NationPress) With tears in her eyes, a visibly shaken Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Monday took aim at BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri, the candidate for the Kalkaji constituency, for his 'disgraceful tactics' and for launching personal attacks against her 80-year-old father, who is an esteemed educationist.

“He is attempting to gain votes by insulting my father rather than on his actual performance in the area,” Atishi claimed, expressing that the attacks on her father are profoundly distressing.

Earlier, during a rally in Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri remarked, "Atishi has altered her identity. Once known as Marlena, she is now Singh. Her parents had petitioned for clemency for Afzal Guru, the individual responsible for tragic events involving young lives."

Responding to Bidhuri, CM Atishi asserted that he should refrain from engaging in disgraceful politics to secure votes. “You are targeting an elderly man who cannot even walk without assistance. My father has dedicated his life to teaching underprivileged students, and you are disrespecting him with your remarks.”

Atishi challenged Bidhuri to a transparent electoral contest in the Kalkaji constituency, stating, “If you wish to earn votes, you should inform the public about your contributions when you served as an MP for this area. You should detail how many roads you have constructed, and I will share what I have achieved for the voters.”

Atishi's strong rebuttal against Bidhuri came during a press briefing where she raised concerns about a 'voter scam' involving the manipulation of the electoral rolls in the New Delhi Assembly constituency of Arvind Kejriwal.

CM Atishi revealed that she reached out to the Chief Election Commissioner on Sunday, requesting a meeting to discuss the alleged irregularities in the voters list that threaten the integrity of the democratic process.

“From October 29 to January 2, applications have been submitted for the removal of 6,167 voter names,” she stated, mentioning that 11 of the 84 objectors have denied submitting any applications for the deletion of voter names.

“The actions of the Election Commission's administration are also questionable,” she continued, asserting that approximately 10,000 new voters or 10 percent of the electorate have been added, while 6,167 names or 5.7 percent have been removed.

She insisted on an investigation to determine who submitted these forms, especially since 11 objectors are contesting the validity of the deletions.

“We demand that the process of adding and removing voter names be halted until it is clarified who filed Form 7 for deletions and from which cyber cafe these forms originated,” she stated.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh claimed that the name of his wife, Anita, was also improperly removed and accused the BJP, which he argues is already conceding defeat before elections, of engaging in 'manipulative tactics' and supporting 'fake objectors'.

“I call for action against electoral officials permitting such misconduct,” he asserted, revealing that a woman named Madhu, cited by election officials as the objector in the deletion of his wife's name, has denied ever filing a Form 7.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha mentioned that the party seeks a thorough verification of the objectors' claims. “When we offered to conduct the verification, we were not provided the addresses of the objectors,” he explained.

“We requested election officials to summon the objectors to their office, but that request was also rejected, citing concerns for the objectors' safety and privacy,” Chadha added.

“At the very least, those objectors who have rejected filing forms for the removal of others should be contacted,” he urged.

Kejriwal had secured victory in the 2020 election from New Delhi, defeating BJP's Sunil Yadav by a margin of 21,697 votes.

Sanjay Singh emphasized that the AAP’s campaign against the alleged 'voter scam' in the New Delhi constituency should not be interpreted as a sign of a potential loss for Kejriwal in the forthcoming election.

“We are protesting against this malpractice and demanding an inquiry by the ECI where substantial evidence exists,” he concluded.