The hashtag #ShameonGambhir started trending on Twitter after images of the left-hander with former Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) secretary Vinod Tihara went viral on the social media platform. The two were seen together during the unveiling of a stand named after the cricketer in the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
The ex-cricketer is a current BJP minister and was elected as an MP from the East Delhi constituency in the general elections in May this year. Many even accused Gambhir of feeling ‘insecure’ after a stand in the stadium had been named after Indian skipper Virat Kohli, following which Gambhir came up with the move to have a stand named after himself as well. Players like Mohinder Amarnath, Bishan Singh Bedi, Virender Sehwag and Anjum Chopra already have gates and stands named after them in the stadium.
The latest pictures of Gambhir shaking hands with Tihara, who was suspended after the Delhi Police filed two charge sheets against him for age-fudging earlier this year, have shocked Twitteratis, who have been unable to gauge Gambhir’s changed behaviour since he was voted to power. Tihara was booked under Sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using electronically forged documents), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (criminal act by several person) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The users have been slamming the former opener for being ready to share the stage with former scamsters all for self-promotion. Hashtags like #NoShameGambhir and #SelfObsessedGambhir have been trending in India for the last few hours.
The cricketer was in the news earlier this month for skipping an important meeting on how to curb pollution in New Delhi to do commentary for the first Test match between India and Bangladesh that was held in Indore. In the images shared by former middle-order player VVS Laxman, Gambhir was seen feasting on samosas and jalebis, and the Delhite was slammed for his confused priorities.
It is high time that Gambhir realizes that he is no longer a cricketer but a politician, who needs to work for the people rather than naming stands after him. He will need to desperately pull up his socks if he is to win the people over again.
