New Delhi: Former Bigg Boss contestant Archana Gautam, who fought the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls last year as a Congress candidate, has alleged that she and her father were “beaten up” by a mob outside the party headquarters in Delhi Friday.
Videos that have surfaced on social media show Gautam being chased by a group of women and a verbal altercation taking place between them.
"दलित महिला है इसलिए इतनी चुप्पी हैं?"
अभिनेत्री अर्चना गौतम को दिल्ली कांग्रेस कार्यालय से बाहर निकाला गया. लड़की हूं लड़ सकती हूं अभियान की ब्रांड एंबेसडर थीं। हस्तिनापुर 2022 में कांग्रेस के टिकट पर मेरठ सीट से चुनाव लड़े। प्रियंका गांधी के सलाहकार संदीप सिंह पर तमाम आरोप… pic.twitter.com/VpB0NqOC1Q
— iMayankofficial 🇮🇳 (@imayankindian) October 1, 2023
Gautam contested the UP polls in 2022 from the Hastinapur reserved constituency as a part of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s ‘Ladki Hoon Ladd Sakti Hoon’ campaign. Priyanka, who was then general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, gave 40 percent of the party’s tickets to women in the elections. Gautam secured just 1,300 votes.
Speaking to ThePrint Sunday, Gautam’s father, Gautam Buddh, alleged that the mob that attacked them was instigated by Priyanka’s personal secretary Sandeep Singh and All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary for Uttar Pradesh, Dheeraj Gurjar.
“My daughter and I had gone to AICC on Friday to congratulate Priyanka Didi on the passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill. She (Archana) also wanted to congratulate Khargeji (Mallikarjun Kharge) for becoming Congress president,” said Buddh.
He continued: “As soon as we reached the gates, we were told that our entry had been banned. Then everyone started saying that Archana Gautam had come and suddenly a mob of men and women came out to attack us.”
Buddh claimed that the mob beat up Archana Gautam and even kicked him. “I was, in fact, almost beaten unconscious because I was trying to protect her. We somehow managed to escape from the situation,” he added.
He said that Gautam and her team were planning some sort of legal action after the incident.
ThePrint reached Sandeep Singh and Dheeraj Gurjar via WhatsApp calls and messages. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
According to Congress sources, Gautam was not allowed to enter as she was suspended from primary membership of the party in June.
The letter informing Gautam of her suspension said that she had been sent a showcause notice in May for “lack of discipline” and that she was supposed to respond to the same. Due to a lack of response, she had been suspended for six years.
The showcause notice was issued to Gautam due to statements she made in March against Sandeep Singh. Gautam had said that she had gone to the Congress plenary in Raipur to meet Priyanka — who she refers to as ‘Didi’. She claimed that she was not allowed to meet her as Sandeep “blocks access to the Gandhis”.
Gautam was a contestant on Bigg Boss 16 and ended up as the third runner-up. In 2018, she won the title of ‘Miss Bikini India’.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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