New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday said the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal was harassed by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal‘s personal assistant and strict action would be taken against him.
Over 24 hours after Maliwal made calls to the police and alleged that she had been assaulted by Kejriwal’s assistant Bibhav Kumar on Monday morning, the party finally broke its silence and condemned the incident.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, AAP senior leader Sanjay Singh said it is a “condemnable incident”. “Yesterday, Swati Maliwal had gone to meet Arvind Kejriwal at his residence. While she was waiting to meet him in the drawing room, Bibhav Kumar came and misbehaved with her. This is a highly condemnable incident. Kejriwal has taken cognizance of it and will take strict action in the incident,” Singh said. This is the first statement from the party. AAP had maintained silence over the incident on Monday.
Maliwal on Monday went to the Civil Lines police station and alleged that a member of Arvind Kejriwal’s personal staff “assaulted” her at the chief minister’s official residence, police officials said. Police have not yet received a formal complaint.
National Commission for Women chief Rekha Sharma has expressed concern over the safety of Maliwal and asked her to speak up. Maliwal has gone incommunicado since the incident. The NCW chairperson wondered if Maliwal was under pressure not to lodge a complaint to the police in the matter.
“I am worried about the safety of @SwatiJaiHind… what pressure is she under that she is unable to come forward and file a complaint with police. Be brave Swati #speakup,” she said in a post on X.
