New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sharpened its attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his silence on the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, terming it ‘unacceptable’.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday launched a scathing attack against Kejriwal during a press conference while referring to Maliwal’s accusation against Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar that Kumar assaulted her at the CM’s official residence Monday.
Sitharaman said Kejriwal had not uttered a word on the incident since 13 May and called him “shameless” and “scared”. She held Kejriwal solely responsible for the incident which she claimed took place while the AAP national convener was at his official residence.
The BJP has also been targeting the AAP by sharing a photo of the Delhi CM with Bibhav Kumar at the Lucknow airport late Wednesday night. Kejriwal was in Lucknow to address a joint press conference with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
“The next day (day after incident), MP Sanjay Singh says action will be taken but no action has been taken. They further rubbed salt on the wound by roaming around with Bibhav Kumar in Lucknow after the incident without any care in the world. Besharmi ki bhi hadd hai bhai (there is a limit to shamelessness),” she said.
The Delhi unit of the BJP, which was facing the heat after the arrest and subsequent release of Arvind Kejriwal ‘fearing’ that it would lead to a ‘sympathy wave’ in favour of the AAP, too, swung into action with the Mahila Morcha protesting outside the CM’s residence Thursday and Friday demanding his resignation.
ThePrint reported earlier how the AAP had drawn up a plan to launch a campaign blitzkrieg involving interviews, roadshows, and public meetings featuring Kejriwal and his wife Sunita Kejriwal across states where the INDIA bloc is locked in close contests with the BJP.
“The women in Delhi are asking — can this CM (Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal) even provide security to the women in the city? Arvind Kejriwal is responsible for this incident. Look at the character of this party, the way they treat women leaders,” Sitharaman said Friday during a press conference on the issue in Delhi.
She further said that Kejriwal visited Lucknow to meet Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav even as his former personal assistant Bibhav Kumar stands accused of assaulting Maliwal. Sitharaman added that Kejriwal could be seen ‘shamelessly’ moving around with Bibhav Kumar even after his party promised action against him.
“Kejriwal has not said a single word on the assault since 13 May. He talks so much about women but did not utter a single word on the matter. When CM is at his residence, his PA (personal assistant) assaults the Rajya Sabha MP in his presence. He is seated in his house, and still not speaking on it. On the next day, Sanjay Singh said action will be taken. Where is the action,” Sitharaman asked.
She also said that when asked about the incident during a press conference in Lucknow, Kejriwal ignored the question and ‘shifted’ the microphone to the other side.
“The fact that Swati Maliwal did not register a complaint in police for 3-4 days (after the incident) clearly shows that there was pressure on her from high-level. There are definitely reasons to believe that there was enough pressure on her and probably continues on her,” Sitharaman added.
According to a senior Delhi BJP leader, the party will continue to raise the issue of the assault on Swati Maliwal. “AAP and Delhi chief minister talk about women empowerment but in this case they have not only not taken any action but the chief minister has also kept mum. The Delhi unit (of the BJP) will continue to raise this issue and will do so more aggressively ahead of the 25 May Lok Sabha elections,” the BJP leader told ThePrint.
“Senior leaders will continue to attack AAP on women’s safety and security as well as the silence of AAP on this particular issue. The image of AAP and Kejriwal has been hit by this episode and the idea is to take it to voters across Delhi,” said a second senior BJP leader.
Speaking to ThePrint, BJP’s Delhi Mahila Morcha president Richa Mishra said the party will continue to demand the resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the issue.
“If a woman of her stature is not safe — she has held the position of chief of Delhi Commission for Women and is currently an MP — imagine the plight of other AAP workers. We protested today and will continue with it in the coming days too,” she said.
Another party leader explained that while the issue is not directly linked to the ongoing general election, the party will use the opportunity to target AAP and Arvind Kejriwal. “They talk about women empowerment and then treat their own colleagues like this. We will highlight this issue even in our campaigns,” said the leader.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: ‘Slapped & screamed, dragged, pulled shirt’ — Swati Maliwal’s FIR against Kejriwal aide Bibhav Kumar