 "Have AAP, Swati Maliwal been at loggerheads before assault allegations surfaced?")
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is facing flak after its Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal accused Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide of misbehaviour. The party’s senior leader Sanjay Singh on Tuesday (14 May) said that the CM’s aide, Bibhav Kumar, had “misbehaved” with her and would face “strict action”.
Addressing a press conference, Singh said that Maliwal was waiting for Kejriwal in his drawing room to meet him when Kumar “disrespected” the Rajya Sabha MP.
“A very condemnable incident took place yesterday morning. Swati Maliwal had gone to Arvind Kejriwal’s residence to meet him. She was waiting in the drawing room when Bibhav Kumar misbehaved and disrespected her. She dialled 112 and informed the police,” he said.
Singh added that Kejriwal has “taken cognisance” of the matter and has “directed that strict action be taken”. “Swati Maliwal has worked for the country and society, and she is among the oldest and most senior leaders of the AAP. We are with her. AAP does not support such people (Bibhav),” he said.
#WATCH | AAP MP Sanjay Singh says, "Yesterday an incident took place. At the residence of Arvind Kejriwal incident of misbehaviour took place with Swati Maliwal by Vibhav Kumar (Arvind Kejriwal's PA). Swati Maliwal has informed about this incident to the Delhi Police. This is a… pic.twitter.com/l7Hbk4CKEM
— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2024
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe incident has bared the rift between Maliwal and the AAP. However, some say that disgruntlement has been developing for some time now.
Let’s take a closer look.
What happened?
On Monday, the Delhi Police said that Swati Maliwal had called in the morning and alleged assault by Kumar at the CM’s official residence.
As per a Times of India (TOI) report, while Maliwal had gone to Civil Lines Police Station, she returned without filing an official complaint after getting some phone calls.
She had told the cops she would come back but has not so far.
The Delhi Police have marked Maliwal’s complaint as “pending” and have not registered an FIR yet, TOI reported.
According to the police records, two daily diary entries were made regarding the PCR call, wherein Maliwal alleged she was assaulted on Kejriwal’s instructions, reported Indian Express.
A political storm has erupted over the issue, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) targeting the AAP and demanding a probe into the matter.
The saffron party has said the incident brings into question the Delhi government’s ability to protect the women in the National Capital when its own leaders are unsafe in the premises of the CM’s residence.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva has called for Bibhav Kumar’s arrest.
“Till yesterday, AAP leaders kept shut about the incident, why were they quiet? A woman faces misbehaviour, is assaulted and you are saying you will take cognizance of it? He (Kumar) should have been under arrest by now… An FIR should be registered on the basis of her (Maliwal’s) statement and everyone who is guilty should face action,” he was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
The women workers of the BJP also held protests outside the CM’s residence in Delhi over the matter on Wednesday.
#WATCH | Delhi: Women workers of the BJP protest near CM residence over AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal assault case. pic.twitter.com/ln4RzBf95U
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2024
Who is Swati Maliwal?
Maliwal is one of the prominent faces of the AAP, whose association with CM Kejriwal precedes even the party’s formation.
She joined Kejriwal’s NGO Parivartan soon after graduating from college.
In 2011, Maliwal, who hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, became a part of the 23-member core committee of the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement India Against Corruption.
She grabbed national attention during her eight-year stint as the chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW). Maliwal, who was 31 years old in 2015 when she was appointed as the DCW’s head became the youngest-ever woman to hold the post.
According to the DCW, she handled more than 1.7 lakh cases of crimes against girls and women in Delhi during her tenure.
Maliwal also made headlines when she had opened up about “past sexual abuse” by her father and had expressed relief over ending her “bad marriage”.
She remained the DCW chairperson until January this year when she was nominated by the AAP to the Rajya Sabha.
Maliwal has also found herself in the middle of controversies. In 2016, the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) filed an FIR against her over allegations of irregularities in appointments made to the DCW.
Earlier in May, Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena sacked 52 “illegally appointed” contractual employees of the DCW, who were appointed during Maliwal’s tenure. The AAP Rajya Sabha MP had hit out at the LG over the move.
Rift between Maliwal and AAP
The recent incident has put the spotlight on the chasm between Maliwal and the AAP leadership, which as per ThePrint, has developed over months.
An AAP leader told the digital outlet on the condition of anonymity, “The CM was not happy with her prolonged absence from Delhi before and after his arrest. The same goes for others who have been missing, too.”
Another AAP functionary said, “With the CM’s displeasure with her being evident, her requests to campaign for the party have also not found favour with many within the party.”
The BJP had questioned Maliwal’s absence from Delhi after Kejriwal was arrested in the excise policy case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 21 March.
She had said she was in the United States for her sister’s treatment.
However, even after she returned towards the end of April, Maliwal was not seen much on the ground and attended only a few election rallies.
On 26 April, she and Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel campaigned for AAP’s East Delhi Lok Sabha candidate, Kuldeep Kumar. A day later, she canvassed for the party’s West Delhi nominee, Mahabal Mishra.
Notably, she was missing from the AAP stage when Kejriwal made his first public address after his release from Tihar jail on interim bail.
Senior AAP leaders have also rebuffed speculations that Maliwal was upset with the party over being asked to give up her Rajya Sabha membership so that Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kejriwal’s lawyer in the excise policy case, could be accommodated.
“There is zero element of truth in such theories,” a top AAP leader told ThePrint.
Why has AAP acknowledged ‘misbehaviour’ with Maliwal?
The AAP has previously shielded Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar over various allegations, including corruption charges.
But it went public with its rebuke this time.
According to Indian Express sources, the AAP does not want to risk losing its women voter base. “At a time when the campaign is at its peak, the party does not want this to become an issue that will drag on. In making a public statement, it has sent the message that Swati’s complaints have not fallen on deaf ears,” an AAP leader told the newspaper.
Speaking to ThePrint, AAP sources said the public reprimand for Kumar was done as he “crossed the line”, and the statement would help “defuse the needless controversy” and placate Maliwal.
The former head of the DCW is yet to comment on the matter.
With inputs from agencies
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