AAP candidate breaks down over vicious pamphlet

An Oxford-educated candidate contesting India’s election broke down yesterday after a savage anonymous pamphlet accused her of being a woman of loose character.An emotional Atishi Marlena told a news conference that the accusations were “obscene and derogatory”.Atishi, a former Rhodes scholar to Britain’s Oxford University, is standing as a candidate for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which won control of Delhi in state elections in 2015 on an anti-corruption platform.Both Atishi and AAP head and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused Gautam Gambhir, a former international cricketer and candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of being behind the pamphlet.“I feel very sad as I speak to the media. I feel sad that politics has stooped so low in the country,” she said.“When Gambhir joined politics, I told him that good people are important for politics. But he and his party have shown how low they can go,” she said, referring to the pamphlets circulated with newspapers across the east Delhi constituency.“I am not in politics for money or fame,” said Atishi, who has played a key role in reshaping the school education system in the capital.“If Gambhir can stoop so low to defeat a strong woman like me, how can he ensure security for women as an MP?” she asked.However, Gambhir strenuously denied the accusation on Twitter.“I declare that if its proven that I did it, I will withdraw my candidature right now,” wrote Gambhir.“Never imagined Gautam Gambhir to stoop so low,” Kejriwal had earlier tweeted.“Atishi, stay strong. I can imagine how difficult it must be for u. It is precisely this kind of forces we have to fight against.”Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who was present at the press conference, added: “Gambhir circulated derogatory pamphlets about Atishi. The language in this pamphlet is so abusive that anybody who reads it will feel ashamed.”He said when Gambhir played cricket for India, the nation clapped for him.“But we never in our worst dream thought that this man would stoop this low to win an election.”The row comes weeks after Atishi accused Gambhir of possessing two voter identification cards and appealed to election authorities to disqualify him.Gambhir had previously courted controversy with comments on Jammu and Kashmir when he called for “evicting and killing” those who want to secede from India.Delhi votes on Sunday on the penultimate day of India’s almost seven-week-long election, which wraps up on May 19.Results are due four days later.