BJP MP and former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who was criticised for skipping a meeting on air pollution held in Delhi, is supposedly "missing". Posters screaming 'Lapata' (Missing) along with a photo of Gautam Gambhir have been up near the ITO area in Delhi. Under the image, a message: "MISSING! Have you seen this man? Last seen eating jalebi and poha with friends in Indore. The entire Delhi is looking for him.”
The Lok Sabha MP was in Indore as a commentator for the India-Bangladesh test match and was seen eating jalebi. He invited huge flak after he skipped the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Urban Development meeting, over air pollution in Delhi, on November 15.
Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman Friday shared a picture of Gambhir wherein the duo was seen having Jalebi (sweets) at a local eatery in Indore along with broadcaster Jatin Sapru.
"Kabhi pohe se teekhe, kabhi jalebi se meethe ... a wonderful start to the day in Indoor, where we had breakfast outdoor," Laxman’s tweet read.
Hitting out at Gambhir, the Aam Aadmi Party, in a tweet, said while MPs like him were busy enjoying, AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Slngh attended the meeting.
"Gautam Gambhir, is this the level of your seriousness regarding air pollution," the Arvind Kejriwal-led party questioned.
As many as 24 MPs from various parties did not attend the meeting, but the absence of Gambhir, the lone BJP leader from Delhi in the committee, snowballed into a political row as the AAP hit out at the saffron party over the issue and questioned its seriousness in tackling the crisis.
In a statement, Gambhir said his work spoke for him, adding that if by abusing him, Delhi's pollution levels came down, then the AAP was free to do so.
"My commitment to my constituency and my city should be judged by the work that is happening there. I have not entered politics to make money but I do have a family to support. Making my commercial engagements (which were entered into before I had become an MP) an issue to mask the incompetence and political greed of their leader, is the saddest thing that the party, which claims to represent honest people, could do. But I have complete faith in the people of my constituency, my city and my country. They will judge me by my work and not by the propaganda and false narrative spread by the minions of the ‘honest CM’ of Delhi,” Gambhir had said in a long statement.