Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh on Tuesday said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal assistant Bibhav Kumar had “misbehaved” with party MP and former Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal a day earlier and that Mr. Kejriwal will take “strict action” in the matter.
Mr. Singh’s statement comes a day after the Delhi police said that they had received a call on Monday from a woman who identified herself as Ms. Maliwal and alleged physical assault by one of the Chief Minister’s aides.
No police complaint regarding the incident has been received so far, the police said on Tuesday.
Attacking Mr. Kejriwal over the incident, former Madhya Pradesh CM and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, while addressing a poll rally in Delhi, “This is India where the Mahabharata war was fought because of disrespect towards a woman [Draupadi].”
The party’s Delhi unit chief, Virendra Sachdeva, demanded that the guilty be arrested immediately.
Addressing a press conference, Mr. Singh said the former DCW chairperson had arrived at the Chief Minister’s official residence to meet Mr. Kejriwal. While she was waiting, Mr. Bibhav misbehaved with her.
“This is a highly condemnable incident. Kejriwal has taken cognisance of it and will take strict action in the matter,” the senior AAP leader said.
‘NCW chief concerned’
Expressing concern about Ms. Maliwal’s safety, National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma, in a post on X, urged the former DCW chief to report the matter to the police.
When reached for comment, Ms. Maliwal did not respond.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) witnessed ruckus over the alleged assault on the former DCW chief.
Councillors of the BJP and the Congress stormed the well of the House and demanded Mr. Kejriwal’s resignation, following which the Mayor adjourned the proceedings.
BJP poll blitz
While addressing a public event in Naveen Shahdara for the party’s North East Delhi candidate Manoj Tiwari, the former M.P. Chief Minister urged women to vote for the BJP.
He said, “If the women of Delhi seek to benefit from the women empowerment schemes, such as those in Madhya Pradesh and other BJP-ruled States, then they must choose a BJP government first in the Lok Sabha and then in the Delhi Assembly.”
