JOIN USUnder attack for not attending a key parliamentary panel meeting on air pollution on Friday, BJP lawmaker Gautam Gambhir said he should be judged by his work and not by "propaganda or false narrative".
The East Delhi MP said he has been taking steps to fight pollution, which includes a plan to install giant air purifiers in his constituency.
Gambhir, who appears on sports channels for commentary, also came under severe attack after his picture relishing poha and jalebi in Indore has gone viral on social media.
Attacking the cricketer-turned-politician, AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said not attending the meeting shows the criminal negligence and apathy towards air pollution in Delhi.
"All these bureaucrats should suspended with immediate effect and proceedings should be initiated against BJP MPs who bunked. In addition to this, all bureaucrats & MPs who bunked the meeting should be removed from the comforts of air purified rooms, made to stand outside all day long, at a hotspot, so that they realize the gravity of the situation," Chadha tweeted.
Only four MPs of a 28-member parliamentary panel attended the meeting to discuss the air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR. Top officials of the environment ministry, Delhi Development Authority and municipal commissioners also stayed away from the deliberations.
Delhi-NCR has been reeling under high level of air pollution for the past one month. The air quality has been in the severe category for the past four days.
Hitting back at AAP, Gambhir said the ruling party in Delhi was picking on him to mask the "incompetence and political greed" of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
"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. My commitment to my constituency and my city should be judged by the work that is happening there," Gambhir said in a statement citing some initiatives taken by him.
Gambhir added that he has left no stone unturned in the past six months to make sure that people who voted for him get the best.
"This is not even 1 per cent of what I intend to do in the next 4.5 years. We are also in talks to install giant air purifiers with cutting edge technology, across the constituency which will substantially reduce pollution. The pilot version will be installed within the next few weeks," he said.