Five times Somnath Bharti has embarrassed himself, us, and his boss

#1. How do you argue for your party? Try a self-goal:

That's Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti, who said in Delhi Assembly yesterday that "Beautiful women can go out at night if the AAP government takes over Delhi Police''. If there was any doubt about the AAP government's incompetence in matters of state, it was sealed with this statement. He thought he was improving matters when he clarified on Facebook ("I request media friends not to twist my statement: I have said "beautiful women laden with jewellery can travel at midnight fearlessly is the kind of benchmark one can measure security level at Delhi against, if the AAP has police control.") but it only got worse.

#2. How do you uphold the AAP's public image, especially among young people? Try domestic abuse.

Bharti's wife Lipika Mitra has accused the former Delhi law minister of mental and physical abuse, as well as financial deprivation, charges that he was unable to adequately defend, though his mother did dramatically turn up at his wife's press conference and he did declare to her that her agitation was politically motivated.

#3. How do you make Delhi streets safer? By being Batman:

Since Bharti felt, in the AAP government's first shot at power, that Delhi Police was not competent in handling crimes of drugs and prostitution, he decided to walk the streets at night with his pals and play vigilante at Khirkee Extension. Even if the intention was right - there is no doubt that Delhi Police has turned a blind eye to rise in both - the drive was a disaster.

#4. How do you promote ethics?

Try running a spam business. In 2003-04, Bharti had links with a company called Topsites LLC that worked out of Malviya Nagar. Bharti subsequently denied any wrongdoing and insisted an associate was behind the business, saying he disassociated himself from him once he found out what he was doing.

#5. How do you stand by the law?

Um, by trying to influence a witness and tamper with evidence? That was the statement of a judge when Bharti and his client were fighting a corruption case in a CBI court in Delhi. The judge said their conduct was "not only highly objectionable, unethical, but also amounts to tampering with evidence". Of course, neither the AAP nor Bharti accepted the charges. Bharti said: "We made an audio CD to expose those making false claims in the case but the court refused to go into the details of the tapes. I don't see this as tampering of evidence. The CBI should catch the real culprits."

Never a dull moment in Bharti's life, is there?