Will stop eating jalebis: Gambhir hits back at trollers

A day after 'MISSING' posters came up in his name in Delhi, in an apparent dig at his absence from an important parliamentary committee meeting on curbing air pollution in the capital, East Delhi MP and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir hit back saying that if his eating jalebis caused the pollution to rise, then he would give up the sweet forever.

The former India opener was widely criticised for skipping the meeting and, instead, doing commentary during the India-Bangladesh first Test match in Indore. Gambhir's former teammate and fellow commentator V.V.S. Laxman tweeted a picture of them having jalebis and poha at Indore, which led to social media backlash against Gambhir, with the Aam Aadmi Party leading the way.

“MISSING: Have you seen him? He was last spotted having jalebis at the Indore cricket stadium. The entire Delhi is looking for him,” read the posters.

“Did the pollution level go up because of me eating jalebis?” asked a visibly irritated Gambhir when asked about the issue. “If that is so, I can give up jalebis for the rest of my life. I have done a lot of work in these five months [since I became the MP]. Have you asked [Delhi Chief Minister Arvind] Kejriwal what has he done in the past five years to control air pollution? In 10 minutes they (AAP) started trolling me. If they had put in the same effort to curb air pollution, we all would have been able to breathe fresh air.”

Gambhir explained the reasons for not attending the meeting, saying: "I know the meeting was very important but I was contractually bound. I had signed the contract in January and I joined politics in April. Due to contractual obligation, I had to go for the commentary. On 11th November I received the mail and on the same day, I had informed them the reason for not attending the meeting."

"I am very much concerned about pollution in Delhi as my two kids stay here," he said.

ALSO READ: Gambhir feels Dhoni's advice cost him his World Cup 100 in 2011

Only four MPs of the 28-member parliamentary panel attended the meeting to discuss the air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR.

Earlier, the East Delhi MP, in his defence, said that he should be judged by his work and not by "propaganda or false narrative".

“I have not entered politics for money but I do have a family to support,” Gambhir said in a note that he shared on Twitter. “I believe in hard earned money and not using public funds to further political ambitions. 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 the party, which claims to represent honest people, can do.”

However, AAP leader Atishi Marlena was quick to counter his 'defence'. “Our Hon'ble MP claims he skipped a meeting on air pollution in order to earn a living. In the same breath, he says he pledges his salary as an MP for his constituency. Going in circles like a jalebi to defend the indefensible!”