Maliwal assault case: Delhi LG questions Kejriwal's silence on women's safety

Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena on Tuesday (May 21) said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's "deafening silence" on the alleged assault of AAP Rajya Sabha MP "speaks volumes of his stance on safety of women" and asked him to come clean on the matter.

The Delhi police on Saturday arrested Bibhav Kumar, an aide of Kejriwal, after Maliwal accused him of assaulting her on May 13 at the Delhi chief minister's official residence.

In a statement on X by Raj Niwas, Saxena said the Delhi police are investigating the matter and it will be brought to its "logical conclusion." He also called the alleged U-turn by the party on the matter “baffling”. "I have been deeply distressed over the unfolding media narrative over the last few days on the issue of alleged assault on Ms Swati Maliwal, MP, Aam Aadmi Party, at the residence of Chief Minister, when she went there to meet him all alone.”

Deafening silence

"Yesterday, she called me out of sheer anguish, describing at length her traumatic experience, and the subsequent intimidation and shaming that she is being subjected to by her own colleagues. She also expressed concerns over reported tampering of evidence and coercion against her," he said.

On Kejriwal, Saxena said, "I would have expected that at least for the sake of propriety, my CM would have come clean, rather than being evasive and dodgy. His deafening silence speaks volumes of his stance on safety of women." Delhi is the national capital and is home to the entire diplomatic community from around the world and "such shameful incidents and the insensitive and conspiratorial contemptuous government response, on an issue of women safety, tarnishes India’s image worldwide," he said.

"Had such an incident happened in any other Chief Minister's residence in the country, external forces with vested interests, inimical to India, would have unleashed a scathing global narrative around women safety in India. The absence of any outrage in this case leaves several questions unanswered," he said in the statement.

Backs Maliwal

Saxena rooted for Maliwal even, as he said, she has been "vociferous", "hostile" and "blatantly partisan towards me and my office, often criticising me unjustifiably." He said it was "most disturbing" that the alleged scene of crime was the drawing room of the chief minister, even while he was allegedly present in the house, and that it was carried out by his "closest aide" on a woman who was alone.

"Her fellow member of Rajya Sabha confirmed her narrative in full media glare, and assured that the CM would take firm action against the culprit -- his aide.”

"Subsequently, a total U-turn was done in the matter, apparently at the behest of the highest functionary. This too is inexplicable and baffling," he said.

On May 14, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh had said that the incident with Maliwal was "highly condemnable" and acknowledged that Kumar had "misbehaved" with her.

Days later, Delhi minister Atishi, in a press conference, termed the case a "BJP conspiracy" to frame Kejriwal and called Maliwal its "face."

BJP slams AAP

The BJP on Tuesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party of indulging in "character assassination" of Maliwal, instead of taking action against Kumar who is alleged to have assaulted her.

Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi asked Kejriwal why no action had been taken against Kumar despite his party's Rajya MP Sanjay Singh admitting at a press conference recently that Maliwal was mistreated.

The Delhi police arrested Kumar, an aide of Kejriwal, on Saturday after Maliwal accused him of assaulting her on May 13 at the Delhi chief minister's official residence.

"Such misbehaviour with a woman MP. Instead of addressing it, the AAP is indulging in her character assassination," Trivedi charged.

The BJP leader also slammed Kejriwal over his party alleging BJP's involvement in the matter, and asked him, "Did you set up any inquiry into the incident? If not, then on what grounds you are arriving at a conclusion."

Maliwal had on Monday alleged that Delhi government ministers were "spreading lies" about her and threatened to take them to court.

In a post on X, the AAP MP also refuted allegations by AAP leaders that she had filed the complaint against Kumar at the behest of the BJP because she had a corruption case against her.

Retrieval of data

Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar is being taken to Mumbai for the retrieval of data from his formatted iPhone, police said on Tuesday.

Kumar is under a five-day judicial custody in connection with the alleged assault on Maliwal, a Rajya Sabha MP, at the CM's Delhi residence.

Police said Kumar had formatted his phone before transferring the data to some person, or device in Mumbai. His mobile phone was seized following his arrest but it was found to have been formatted, they said.

(With agency inputs)