NEW DELHI: For the Aam Aadmi Party and the opposition bloc INDIA, the controversy around the alleged assault of party MP Swati Maliwal at the residence of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal could not have come at a worse time. Maliwal’s allegation of assault against Bibhav Kumar, who is Kejriwal’s ex-PA, has snowballed into a huge controversy. The BJP has gone all out against Kejriwal and the INDIA bloc.The AAP, on the other hand, has accused the saffron party of hatching a conspiracy to entrap the Delhi chief minister using Swati Maliwal.
The controversy comes in the middle of a fiercely contested Lok Sabha elections, with three phases of voting still left. This includes polling in Delhi and Punjab where the AAP has huge stakes. It was only last week that the AAP got a major boost when the Supreme Court decided to grant interim bail to Kejriwal, who was in jail in an alleged money laundering case in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
On May 10, SC allowed Kejriwal to come out and campaign for his party till June 1, the last day of voting, despite very strong objections raised by the Enforcement Directorate in the top court. Kejriwal’s release provided new momentum – not just to his party but also to the opposition camp – as the Delhi chief minister embarked on his campaign drive after missing the first three phases of Lok Sabha elections.
However, with the assault saga getting ugly and taking a political turn, both AAP and the BJP – have engaged in a blame game over the incident. Swati Maliwal’s decision to lodge an FIR with Delhi Police, three days after the incident, was a clear hint of her isolation within the party. Delhi Police, which comes under the Centre, has often been the bone of contention between the BJP and AAP. In fact, in 2023 as the chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women, Swati Maliwal had gone out on a late-night drive on the streets of the national capital to check the promptness of Delhi police to help women in distress. After an incident involving a car that dragged her in front of AIIMS, Swati Maliwal had then targeted the police and wondered how women could feel safe in Delhi if the DCW chairperson was attacked on the streets.
The BJP has questioned the silence of Kejriwal and slammed the delay on the part of AAP in taking action against chief minister’s close aide Bibhav Kumar. The saffron party has also targeted the allies of AAP for not speaking against the incident. Kejriwal is yet to react on the incident. On Thursday, when Kejriwal was asked about the assault incident during a joint press conference with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, he kept mum. When the reporters insisted, Akhilesh came to his rescue and said “there are other important things to talk about.” Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi did back Maliwal, but did not comment on the incident calling it an internal matter of AAP.
In her FIR, Maliwal levelled serious allegations against Bibhav Kumar, accusing him of slapping her and also kicking her in her abdomen, chest and pelvis area. The FIR revealed shocking details of the alleged assault. However, hours after the FIR details came into public domain, a video surfaced which showed Maliwal in an altercation with Kejriwal’s security staff and also threatening one of them.
The AAP, after first admitting that Bibhav Kumar had misbehaved with the party MP, went on the offensive against its party MP. AAP minister Atishi called Swati Maliwal the face of BJP conspiracy which was aimed to entrap Kejriwal. Citing the video doing the rounds, Atishi claimed that Maliwal’s lies had been exposed. Atishi said Maliwal had come to the CM house without a prior appointment as her actual target was Kejriwal and not Bibhav Kumar. Meanwhile, Bibhav has now filed a countercomplaint narrating the incidents on the day.
The Delhi Police has already swung into action. Swati Maliwal was taken to Kejriwal’s residence to recreate the crime scene.
Clearly, we haven’t heard the last word in this controversy. What appeared to be an internal matter of the Aam Aadmi Party is now a full-blown war between the BJP and Kejriwal’s party. There are several unanswered questions. Why did Maliwal delay lodging a police complaint? Why did AAP first blame Bibhav of misbehaving with Maliwal? All these questions are bound to become a part of the campaign discourse. The BJP will not let go of this opportunity to corner Kejriwal. However, today’s turn of events shows that the AAP is ready to counter the BJP offensive. It has already declared Swati Maliwal a pawn in the hands of the BJP and claims the saffron party is ruffled by Kejriwal’s campaign.
The controversy comes in the middle of a fiercely contested Lok Sabha elections, with three phases of voting still left. This includes polling in Delhi and Punjab where the AAP has huge stakes. It was only last week that the AAP got a major boost when the Supreme Court decided to grant interim bail to Kejriwal, who was in jail in an alleged money laundering case in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
On May 10, SC allowed Kejriwal to come out and campaign for his party till June 1, the last day of voting, despite very strong objections raised by the Enforcement Directorate in the top court. Kejriwal’s release provided new momentum – not just to his party but also to the opposition camp – as the Delhi chief minister embarked on his campaign drive after missing the first three phases of Lok Sabha elections.
However, with the assault saga getting ugly and taking a political turn, both AAP and the BJP – have engaged in a blame game over the incident. Swati Maliwal’s decision to lodge an FIR with Delhi Police, three days after the incident, was a clear hint of her isolation within the party. Delhi Police, which comes under the Centre, has often been the bone of contention between the BJP and AAP. In fact, in 2023 as the chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women, Swati Maliwal had gone out on a late-night drive on the streets of the national capital to check the promptness of Delhi police to help women in distress. After an incident involving a car that dragged her in front of AIIMS, Swati Maliwal had then targeted the police and wondered how women could feel safe in Delhi if the DCW chairperson was attacked on the streets.
The BJP has questioned the silence of Kejriwal and slammed the delay on the part of AAP in taking action against chief minister’s close aide Bibhav Kumar. The saffron party has also targeted the allies of AAP for not speaking against the incident. Kejriwal is yet to react on the incident. On Thursday, when Kejriwal was asked about the assault incident during a joint press conference with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, he kept mum. When the reporters insisted, Akhilesh came to his rescue and said “there are other important things to talk about.” Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi did back Maliwal, but did not comment on the incident calling it an internal matter of AAP.
In her FIR, Maliwal levelled serious allegations against Bibhav Kumar, accusing him of slapping her and also kicking her in her abdomen, chest and pelvis area. The FIR revealed shocking details of the alleged assault. However, hours after the FIR details came into public domain, a video surfaced which showed Maliwal in an altercation with Kejriwal’s security staff and also threatening one of them.
The AAP, after first admitting that Bibhav Kumar had misbehaved with the party MP, went on the offensive against its party MP. AAP minister Atishi called Swati Maliwal the face of BJP conspiracy which was aimed to entrap Kejriwal. Citing the video doing the rounds, Atishi claimed that Maliwal’s lies had been exposed. Atishi said Maliwal had come to the CM house without a prior appointment as her actual target was Kejriwal and not Bibhav Kumar. Meanwhile, Bibhav has now filed a countercomplaint narrating the incidents on the day.
The Delhi Police has already swung into action. Swati Maliwal was taken to Kejriwal’s residence to recreate the crime scene.
Clearly, we haven’t heard the last word in this controversy. What appeared to be an internal matter of the Aam Aadmi Party is now a full-blown war between the BJP and Kejriwal’s party. There are several unanswered questions. Why did Maliwal delay lodging a police complaint? Why did AAP first blame Bibhav of misbehaving with Maliwal? All these questions are bound to become a part of the campaign discourse. The BJP will not let go of this opportunity to corner Kejriwal. However, today’s turn of events shows that the AAP is ready to counter the BJP offensive. It has already declared Swati Maliwal a pawn in the hands of the BJP and claims the saffron party is ruffled by Kejriwal’s campaign.
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