 "Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence at Civil Lines in New Delhi on Friday | Photo: PTI")
Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence at Civil Lines in New Delhi on Friday | Photo: PTI
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal’s allegations accusing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar of assaulting her have hurt the Delhi CM’s election Lok Sabha election campaign at a crucial juncture. It has also provided the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) an opportunity to accuse the AAP of being anti-women, and strained the AAP’s ties with the Congress, whose leadership has expressed support for Maliwal.
According to sources, the Congress leadership had been looking for ways to distance itself from Kejriwal and the AAP in the current phase of campaigning. Initially, the INDIA bloc had planned a joint press conference of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, the Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge and Kejriwal in Lucknow on Wednesday. However, only Kharge and Yadav were present at the press conference. Yadav held another press conference with Kejriwal by his side on Thursday. The AAP leadership was upset that Kejriwal ended up wasting an entire day because the Congress was unwilling to have Kharge share the stage but did not convey this to the AAP in advance.
On Thursday, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed solidarity with Maliwal, with the Congress’ women leaders in Delhi echoing her.
Her reaction came after AAP leader Atishi at a press conference said the assault case was a BJP conspiracy to frame Kejriwal. Maliwal is the “face” of this “conspiracy” and the allegations levelled by her against Kumar are “baseless”, Atishi said.
The Congress-AAP dissonance over the issue is also unravelling whatever little synergy the two parties had managed in Delhi, where they have a seat-sharing agreement. The AAP is contesting four of Delhi’s seven seats and the Congress is contesting the remaining three. But, even as polling in Delhi is scheduled for May 25, and less than a week is left for campaigning, the cooperation between the workers of the two parties is absent on the ground in several seats.
Maliwal had on Thursday lodged a first information report (FIR) alleging Bibhav Kumar kicked and slapped her multiple times and did not relent even as she screamed for help. The details of the alleged assault at Kejriwal’s official residence on Monday emerged on Friday as the Rajya Sabha MP appeared before a magistrate to record her statement. Sources said the AAP leadership had wanted Maliwal to quit her Rajya Sabha seat to accommodate a leading lawyer. Maliwal was elected to the Rajya Sabha in March and her term ends in 2030.
The BJP on Friday questioned the INDIA bloc’s silence on the issue. Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Kejriwal was “shamelessly” moving around with the accused rather than speaking out on the issue and apologising. She also cited charges of attack on women against several AAP leaders, including its New Delhi Lok Sabha candidate Somnath Bharti, calling it an anti-women party. Taking a swipe at the Congress, the finance minister said the Gandhi family members would vote for Bharti, who was accused of assaulting his pregnant wife. Bharti termed the allegations baseless and threatened legal action.
First Published: May 17 2024 | 10:04 PM IST
