New Delhi:

Senior BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri made a sexist remark about Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Wednesday, declaring the AAP leader is “roaming the city like a deer”. At a rally in the national capital, which will hold an Assembly election in three weeks, he said, “Dilli ki janta nark bhog rahi hai galiyon mei… galiyon ki halat dekhiye… Kabhi Atishi nahi gayi milne logon se. Lekin ab chunaav ke samay jaise jungle mei hirni bhaagti hai vaise Atishi Dilli ki sadko pr hirni jaise ghoom rahi hain.”

Translated, the remark means, “The people of Delhi are suffering in the streets of Delhi… Look at the condition of the streets… In the last four years, Atishi never came to meet the people and now when the elections are here, she is roaming on the streets of Delhi like a deer runs in the forest.”

The AAP has yet to respond to Bidhuri’s crude jab.

Atishi – who succeeded party boss Arvind Kejriwal to the top post after he was forced to stand down last year over involvement in an alleged corruption scam – will contest the February 5 poll from Delhi’s Kalkaji.

The BJP has named Bidhuri – no stranger to incendiary remarks against political rivals, including communal slurs against then BSP leader Danish Ali – as its candidate for that seat.

This isn’t the first time Bidhuri has made inappropriate and unseemly remarks against female colleagues. He earlier declared that were he to be elected as a Delhi MLA, he would make roads which are like Congress leader “Priyanka Gandhi’s cheeks”. He later offered an apology.

READ | Priyanka Responds To BJP Leader’s Controversial “Cheeks” Remark

He earlier also launched another personal attack, targeting Atishi’s father. A heart-broken AAP leader broke down, telling reporters, “For elections, he (Bidhuri) stooped so low… he abused an old man…”

VIDEO | Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Breaks Down Over BJP Leader’s Jibe

There has also been talk, which Bidhuri has squashed, of the BJP leader being a chief ministerial candidate. In a statement issued on Sunday he said, “The party has given me a lot, I have no claim to any post. I am as dedicated to the people as I am to the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is completely baseless to talk about me for the post of chief minister. I will continue as your servant.”

READ | “Not Contender”: BJP Leader On AAP’s ‘Chief Minister Face’ Claim

The Congress, meanwhile, has named a former AAP leader, Alka Lamba, as its candidate.

INDIA bloc allies on paper, the AAP and the Congress have fallen foul of each other since the Haryana election in October last year, for which the two failed to agree a seat sharing deal.

READ | “When INDIA Bloc Was Formed…”: Allies’ Reminder To Congress Before Delhi Poll

The Congress was then routed by the BJP. The Haryana disaster drew jabs from the SP and Trinamool, both of whom made pointed reference to their own failed seat-share talks with the bloc head.

And, fuelled by similar spats – including for Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha seats in the April-June federal election – the Congress and the AAP confirmed in December they will be rivals this time around.

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who is seeking re-election from Kalkaji in next month’s Assembly elections, on Sunday hit out at her rival BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri for his alleged remarks on her family made last week.

In an interview with PTI Videos, Atishi also claimed that her crowd-funding initiative launched on Sunday morning generated Rs 17 lakh in donations within just 10 hours.

Atishi, who defeated BJP’s Dharambir Singh in 2020, said she will proceed to file her nomination for the February 5 polls at the district magistrate’s office after praying at the Kalkaji temple and at a gurdwara.

On her BJP rival’s recent remarks, Atishi said, “Bidhuri has shown his character. Within 24 hours of getting a ticket, he made an indecent comment on Priyanka Gandhi. In the next 24 hours, he abused me and my family from Prime Minister Modi’s stage at a rally.” At a ‘Parivaratan’ rally of the BJP in Rohini last week, Bidhuri targeted Atishi for dropping her surname and went on to say that she “changed her father”.

“Not a single BJP leader has said that Bidhuri was wrong, or asked him to apologise to Pryanka Gandhi or me (for his remarks),” Atishi said.

“This means the BJP supports Bidhuri’s indecent language and the abuses he hurled at women. Had they not, they would have said he was wrong and asked him to apologise to Priayanka Gandhi and me. But they did not do so,” she added.

Before targeting Atishi, Bidhuri had stoked a controversy by claiming that he would make roads which are like Congress leader “Priyanka Gandhi’s cheeks” in his constituency, a comment for which he later expressed regret.

Atishi, who launched her crowd-funding campaign to contest the polls on Sunday, called the initiative an “example of honesty”.

“I need Rs 40 lakh to contest the polls which is .0005 per cent of the budget of our government. AAP is a party that never earned even a single penny dishonestly and that is why we still seek donations from the people to fight the elections,” she said.

The campaign launched at 10 am raised Rs 17 lakh by 8 pm in the form of small donations worth Rs 100 and similar amounts, which show the donors were commoners wishing to support AAP, she claimed.

“I hope the target will be met in coming days,” she said.

Amid BJP’s claims that AAP was helping illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas staying in Delhi to become voters to use them as vote banks, Atishi hit back by questioning the security on the borders under the BJP-led Central government.

“Amit Shah should tell from where these Bangladeshis and Rohingyas came. He is responsible for border security and stopping infiltration through the India-Bangladesh borders,” she said.

“How did the Rohingyas reach Delhi? What does it speak of the law and order and security arrangements if they managed to reach Delhi after crossing the borders and passing through many states. If Rohingyas have reached Delhi, only the BJP is responsible for it,” Atishi said.

Talking about her re-election bid from Kalkaji, she said the constituency was her “Karmbhumi” for the last five years where people considered her as their own “daughter and sister”.

Expressing hopes of getting the wholehearted support of the voters this time as well, Atishi said she developed the constituency by treating its residents like her own family.

The 70-member Delhi Assembly will go to polls on February 5. The results will be out on February 8.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ramesh Bidhuri on Sunday dismissed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s claims that the opposition party is likely to consider projecting him as the chief ministerial face in next month’s Delhi assembly elections, saying he is not a contender for the top post.

Mr Bidhuri, who is contesting the polls from Kalkaji seat against Chief Minister Atishi, made the clarification amid Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal’s allegations that the BJP intends to field the former MP as the chief ministerial candidate in a day or two. The opposition party has, however, repeatedly dismissed the claim.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Bidhuri said: “I am as dedicated to the people as I am to my party. Talks about the chief minister’s role for me are totally baseless. I will continue to work timelessly as your servant.” 

The BJP leader also said he is a “loyal worker” of the party. “The party has constantly blessed me and expressed trust in me. While I was holding important responsibilities for twenty-five years, the party made me an MP twice and an MLA thrice and has given me the opportunity to come to your door for the fourth time,” he said, referring to his term as MP from 2014 to 2019 and 2019 to 2024, and election as MLA in 2003, 2008 and 2013. 

The former MP also hit out at Mr Kejriwal for his “misleading propaganda” against him. “I want to make it clear that I am not a claimant for any post,” he said. 

“With your blessings, I am dedicated to the service of the people… I want to give you more and more of the country,” he added. 

At a press conference on Saturday, Mr Kejriwal claimed that he has come to know from “reliable sources” that the BJP will announce Mr Bidhuri as the chief ministerial candidate in the coming days. He also challenged Bidhuri to a public debate to let the people of Delhi decide who is better equipped to lead.

“Once Bidhuri’s candidacy is officially announced, I propose that to strengthen democracy, there should be a public debate between the AAP’s candidate and the BJP’s candidate, Ramesh Bidhuri, in front of the people of Delhi, the nation, and the media,” the former Chief Minister said.

Mr Bidhuri alleged that by raking up his name, Mr Kejriwal has accepted that the BJP will form the government in the next assembly term. “He has widely accepted his defeat because it is well known that the people of Delhi are widely angry with him. The people want to get rid of the liquor scam, education scam, health scam, Sheeshmahal scam, broken roads, dirty drinking water etc,” he said, referring to the excise policy case, an alleged scam in the Delhi education department, the alleged Mohalla clinic scam and alleged irregularities in the construction of the bungalow that Mr Kejriwal used as chief minister.

Ms Atishi, who is seeking reelection from Kalkaji seat, also claimed on Friday that the BJP was going to name Mr Bidhuri as its chief ministerial face and criticised the party for picking a leader who “hurls the most abuses”.

The BJP dismissed the claims as a “baseless rumour” with Union Home Minister Amit Shah accusing Mr Kejriwal of spreading canard for political mileage. “Can Kejriwal decide the BJP’s chief ministerial face? Who is he to make such claims?” he said while addressing “Jhuggi Basti Pradhan Sammelan” in the Capital on Saturday. 

Mr Shah also accused Mr Kejriwal of attempting to manipulate public perception, asserting that the people of Delhi understood his tactics. “Lies, betrayal and going back on promises” are the qualities of Kejriwal, he said. 

Mr Bidhuri’s recent remarks about Ms Atishi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi had triggered a controversy. 

The BJP leader had made derogatory comments against Ms Atishi’s father.

Besides, he said that would make roads in Kalkaji smooth like “Priyanka Gandhi’s cheeks”. The Congress termed the remark as an “insult to women”.

Mr Bidhuri later expressed regret following an uproar.

The 70-member Delhi Assembly will go to polls on February 5, and the counting of votes will be held on February 8. 

The AAP, which won 67 seats in the 2015 polls and 62 in the 2020 polls, is eyeing another consecutive term in the Capital. 

The BJP won three seats in 2015 and eight in 2020 while the Congress failed to open its account on both the occasions.