‘If any atrocity happens to any woman … ‘: Priyanka Gandhi condemns assault on Swati Maliwal, AAP faces heat

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has voiced her support for AAP MP Swati Maliwal, who was allegedly assaulted by a former aide of Arvind Kejriwal. Gandhi refrained from directly commenting on the case, stating that it is an internal matter of the AAP.

“If any atrocity happens to any woman anywhere, we stand with the woman. I always stand with women – irrespective of which party they belong to. Secondly, AAP will discuss amid themselves and make a decision. It is up to them,” Priyanka said when asked about the alleged assault which has put not just the AAP but also other parties of opposition’s INDIA bloc on the backfoot.

Opposition parties, including the BJP, have avoided directly addressing the assault case. The BJP has demanded action against Bibhav Kumar, the former PA to Arvind Kejriwal, who is accused of misbehaving with Swati Maliwal. Maliwal, known for her activism against injustice towards women, has chosen to remain silent on the issue.

The AAP has acknowledged the incident and assured that action will be taken against Bibhav Kumar for his behavior at Kejriwal’s residence. However, during a joint press conference with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, Kejriwal did not respond to questions about the case, deflecting them by saying, “there are other issues that are more important than this.”

The BJP has criticized Kejriwal for his silence and demanded his resignation. BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, “Arvind Kejriwal should answer and if you are a coward CM and cannot speak even a single word then you should resign because the women of the country are angry and feeling insulted and only Arvind Kejriwal is responsible for this.”

“She is certainly the leader of the opposition party but BJP is fighting to ensure that she gets justice. In the police general diary it was mentioned that a call had been received by police and it was made through Swati Maliwal’s mobile the caller mentioned that ‘I am speaking from CM’s residence and he made me thrashed from his PA Bibhav Kumar’. It’s not important which party she belongs but she should get justice,” he added.

“It is shocking that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has not spoken a work about his party MP Swati Maliwal, who was misbehaved with and beaten up in CM’s residence. He has not acted or responded or spoken about it. Today, I am being told that in Uttar Pradesh, he was seen walking around with the accused. It’s utterly shameful,” said Nirmala Sitharaman on the alleged assault on AAP MP Swati Maliwal at the residence of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh accused the BJP of playing politics over the issue. He mentioned previous incidents involving women and criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining silent on those matters. Delhi Police have initiated a probe into the incident based on the call record details of Maliwal’s phone call to the police. A team of Delhi Police visited Maliwal’s residence to record her statement.

(With inputs from TOI)