New Delhi, November 18: Gautam Gambhir, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from East Delhi and former cricketer on Monday, broke silence on skipping the crucial meet on air pollution woes and said he couldn't attend it due to a contractual obligation. According to a tweet by ANI, Gambhir said that had to be a part of the commentary as he signed the contract in January and joined politics in April. "I know the meeting on November 15 was very important but I was contractually bound", Gambhir said.

The former cricketer said that he had received an email about the meeting on November 11 and he had informed the authorities on the same day the reason for not attending the meeting. "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", he was quoted by ANI.  Missing Posters of Gautam Gambhir Seen in Delhi Days After He Missed Air Pollution Meet; See Pics.

Take a Look at the Tweet:

On November 15, a meeting of a parliamentary standing committee was called to discuss the rising levels of air pollution in the national capital. The crucial meeting was postponed as most participants were absent. The ruling AAP criticised the former cricketer by tweeting: "Delhi is choking and Gautam Gambhir is busy enjoying in Indore". Taking a jibe at the AAP government, the BJP MP on Monday said, "Agar mera jalebi khane se Delhi ka pollution badha hai, toh main hamesha ke liye jalebi chhod sakta hoon"(If eating jalebi has increased the air pollution in Delhi, I am ready to stop eating jalebi forever).

Here's the Video:

According to reports, apart from the former cricketer, the commissioners of all three Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Vice-Chairman of DDA and Secretary/Joint Secretary of Environment did not turn up, forcing postponement of the meeting.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 18, 2019 01:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).