Gautam Gambhir should quit for failing people of Delhi, says AAP

Gautam Gambhir. Picture/Twitter Pralhad Joshi

The AAP on Friday hit out at BJP lawmaker Gautam Gambhir for not attending a key meeting on pollution called by a parliamentary panel, saying he should quit from his post for failing the people of Delhi. Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Raghav Chadha also slammed the BJP over the absence of other senior officials of MCDs, DDA and Union Environment Ministry at the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Urban Development.

"Delhi and north India are going through a pollution emergency. It appears that the Aam Aadmi Party is the only party that has concern for the citizens," he said. He said the notification of the meeting was issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat a week ago but it was unfortunate that most of the lawmakers were absent.

Only four MPs of the 28-member parliamentary panel attended the meeting to discuss the air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR. From Delhi two MPs were invited, one was AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and the other was Gambhir. Singh was present at the meeting.

"But Gambhir who is an elected representative from East Delhi was not present there. Three commissioners of MCD, Vice-Chairman of DDA, Secretary/Joint Secretary of Environment also did not attend the meeting," he said. "Today everyone can see images of Gambhir with his friends at Indore having Jalebi and Poha on social media. He has time to go out with his friends but not to attend a serious meeting like this on air pollution?" he said.

Chadha said Gambhir should quit from his post for failing the people of Delhi. Under attack, Gambhir said he should be judged by his work and not by "propaganda or false narrative". He said the AAP was picking on him to mask the "incompetence and political greed" of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Chaddha asked the Centre to immediately issue show-cause notices to the officials who have skipped the meeting and suspend them. "All the MPs who skipped the meeting should stand for 24 hours at any of the pollution hotspots to know how the common men of this country are suffering," he told reporters.

He said it is clear to the people how serious the BJP government is regarding air pollution.

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