NEW DELHI: The AAP on Friday claimed that the name of East Delhi BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir figures twice in electoral rolls and it has filed a criminal complaint against him in Tis Hazari court over the issue. AAP East Delhi candidate Atishi said it is a criminal matter and called for his "immediate disqualification". "Voters shud not waste their vote on someone who will get disqualified soon," tweeted CM Arvind Kejriwal.
"We have filed a criminal complaint in Tis Hazari Court against Gambhir," said Atishi. She alleged that the cricketer-turned-politician has two voter IDs of Rajendra Nagar and Karol Bagh, and he faces up to one year in prison for this offence. No immediate reaction was available from Gambhir.
The complaint has been filed under Section 155(2) seeking direction for a police investigation into offences punishable, Sections 17 and 31 of the Representation of The People Act, 1950 and Section 125A of The Representation of the People Act, 1951. As per Section 17 of The Representation of the People Act, 1950, no person is entitled to be enrolled as a voter in more than one constituency. Section 31 makes a false declaration in the matter of inclusion or exclusion of voter rolls punishable with up to one year in prison.
In the affidavit submitted to the returning officer at the time of nomination, Gambhir had mentioned that he is only registered to vote in the Rajinder Nagar Assembly seat, Atishi alleged. However, upon scrutiny it was discovered that Gambhir was also registered to vote in the Karol Bagh Assembly Constituency, she said.
"This fact was also deliberately and wilfully concealed by Gambhir during the time of filing and scrutiny of his nomination, as witnessed by the Returning Officer, presumably to avoid rejection of his nomination. The concealment of information provided in an election affidavit is also punishable under Section 125A of the said Act, with up to six months of jail," Atishi said.
It is pertinent to recall that Gambhir's nomination had been held up due to objections raised by the AAP candidate due to technical errors in the affidavit. "Unfortunately for the public, a candidate who is unaware of the law and legal processes has been parachuted into the fray to extract a benefit from his stardom. But the party and the candidate will pay the cost of unpreparedness and inexperience through eventual disqualification and possible jail term for Gambhir," she added.
Tis Hazari court will hear the complaint against Gambhir on May 1.