"Is She Not A Woman?" AAP Hits Out At BJP Over Posters Criticising Atishi

The BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) traded barbs over posters of Leader of the Opposition Atishi, triggering a fresh war of words inside and outside the Delhi Assembly.

Delhi minister Kapil Mishra shared a poster of Atishi over her "disparaging" remark on Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur, asking "Where is Atishi Marlena". The BJP also circulated another poster, showing Atishi's ears being stretched by two hands, accompanied by the slogan "Guru ka apmaan nahi sahega Punjab (Punjab will not tolerate the insult of gurus)".

Responding to the posters, AAP's Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. Mimicking her, Bharadwaj said he too could "speak in a heavy voice in the Assembly and cry" over being attacked as she is a woman Chief Minister. He added that Gupta seemed to have forgotten that she is not the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi, but the fourth.

Bharadwaj questioned the Chief Minister's silence over the posters targeting Atishi. "BJP is now showing posters where Atishi's ears are being stretched, but the Chief Minister is silent. Is Atishi not a woman?" he asked. He further alleged that for the past week, Atishi has been repeatedly targeted by a male minister and an online troll army, while the Chief Minister chooses to play the "woman card" only when it suits her.

The row began last week, when BJP MLAs staged a protest demanding the cancellation of Atishi's Assembly membership, alleging that the former Delhi chief minister made objectionable remarks in the House a day earlier. The next day, AAP accused Mishra of posting an "edited" and "fake" video clip of Atishi online.

A day later, the Punjab Police registered an FIR in connection with the alleged "doctored" video posted by Mishra on X. In response, Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta issued notices to senior Punjab Police officers on Saturday, accusing them of "unwarranted interference with the property of the House". Meanwhile, protests intensified in Punjab, with Opposition parties demanding the arrest of Atishi over the purported remarks.