The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) acknowledged the allegations made by party’s Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal regarding the assault by the Personal Secretary of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday.
The party further stated that Arvind Kejriwal will be taking strict action against PS Bibhav Kumar.
The incident occurred on Monday morning at the Chief Minister’s residence and was brought to light when Maliwal reported the misbehavior by Arvind Kejriwal’s personal staff at the Civil Lines police station. Maliwal also made PCR calls following the assault.
In the first public statement regarding the matter, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh confirmed the incident and mentioned that the Chief Minister has taken notice of the issue and will be taking strict action.
“Yesterday, Maliwal visited Arvind Kejriwal at his residence. While waiting in the drawing room to meet him, Bibhav Kumar behaved inappropriately towards her. This incident is highly condemnable. Kejriwal has acknowledged it and will take strict action,” Sanjay Singh stated during a press conference.
Singh also described it as a “condemnable incident”.
Swati Maliwal has made significant contributions to the country and society. She is one of the party’s most experienced and senior leaders. We all support her,” he added.
In response to Sanjay Singh’s press conference, Delhi BJP chief Virendraa Sachdeva alleged that Swati Maliwal is facing pressure to remain silent due to political reasons and there are attempts to suppress the entire incident.
The insensitivity of the AAP is evident when they claim that they will take cognizance of the incident where a woman was misbehaved with inside the Chief Minister’s residence. It raises the question of who should be held responsible if such an incident occurs at the CM residence. The immediate response should have been to call the police. However, even after 26 hours, the police have not mentioned any plans to take action. It seems that Swati Maliwal is being silenced due to political pressure, and there are attempts to suppress the entire incident. Sachdeva expressed these concerns while speaking to news agency ANI.
On Monday, the police received a PCR call at 9.34 am from a woman who reported being assaulted at the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence. Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) M K Meena informed reporters that MP madam visited the police station but left, stating that she would file a complaint later.
It is important to note that the police have not yet received a formal complaint from Maliwal regarding the incident.
In the meantime, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has condemned the assault on Swati Maliwal and announced that they will be sending an inquiry team to investigate the matter.