Hours after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena voiced support for AAP MP Swati Maliwal over her alleged assault at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s house by his close aide, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) responded, alleging that the LG’s letter in the matter indicates Maliwal’s affiliation with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The AAP’s statement came after Delhi LG backed Maliwal’s assault allegations against Bibhav Kumar and questioned Kejriwal’s silence on the matter. In a statement issued by Delhi’s Raj Niwas, Saxena, often criticized by the AAP-led Delhi government, claimed that Maliwal had contacted him and described “her traumatic experience” and the “intimidation and shaming” she faced from her own party colleagues.
Delhi LG backs Swati Maliwal
In the letter, VK Saxena stated, “Yesterday, she called me out of sheer anguish, describing at length her traumatic experience, and the subsequent intimidation and shaming that she is being subjected to by her own colleagues. She also expressed concerns over reported tampering of evidence and coercion against her.”
“I would have expected that at least for the sake of propriety, my CM would have come clean, rather than being evasive and dodgy. His deafening silence speaks volumes of his stance on the safety of women,” he added.
In response to LG Saxena’s support for Maliwal, AAP alleged that the LG’s letter is evidence that “Maliwal is working for BJP.” AAP further accused BJP of concocting new conspiracies daily in the elections, stating that BJP’s declining fortunes are being propped up by Swati Maliwal.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, in a post on X, replied to LG VK Saxena’s remarks, highlighting previous incidents involving the mistreatment of women and questioning the LG’s inaction in those cases.
Swati Maliwal accused Bibhav Kumar, a close aide of Kejriwal, of assaulting her on May 13 in the drawing room of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence. She alleged that Kejriwal was present in the house during the assault by Bibhav.