Delhi BJP MP seeks removal of DCW’s Swati Maliwal

Sahib Singh Verma’s letter came a day after a Delhi court ordered framing of corruption and criminal conspiracy charges against Swati Maliwal and three others for “prima facie” abusing their official positions to appoint AAP workers to different posts in the women’s rights body

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and West Delhi MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma on Friday wrote to lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, urging him to remove Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal from her post.

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal. (HT Archive)

Verma’s letter came a day after a Delhi court ordered framing of corruption and criminal conspiracy charges against Maliwal and three others for “prima facie” abusing their official positions to appoint Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers to different posts in the women’s rights body.

Referring to the court order, Verma wrote, “…the defendants appointed AAP workers to various DCW positions without following proper procedure… I request you to take immediate action against Swati Maliwal for her unconstitutional action and remove her from the position of DCW chairperson.”

Referring to the charges against her, Maliwal on Friday tweeted in Hindi, “Those who work honestly have to prove their honesty and thieves enjoy in the country. Handled lakhs of cases, saved hundreds of girls from trafficking, got liquor-drug mafia arrested, stood with the poor. This is my only crime. As long as I am alive, I will keep fighting.”

On Thursday, a Delhi court had ordered framing of charges against Maliwal and former DCW members Promila Gupta, Sarika Chaudhary and Farheen Malick under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), read with Section 13(1)(d) (criminal misconduct by a public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The order came on a case lodged by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, on a complaint filed by former DCW chairperson Barkha Shukla Singh on September 20, 2016. According to the prosecution, the accused abused their official positions and obtained pecuniary advantages for AAP workers, who were appointed to different DCW posts without due process.

The prosecution said a total of 90 appointments were made in the DCW between August 6, 2015 and August 1, 2016. Of these, 71 people were appointed on a contractual basis and 16 were appointed for ‘Dial 181’ distress helpline.

In September, Verma had lodged a complaint with LG Saxena, alleging that Jasmine Shah, vice-chairperson of the Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission, a government think tank, was using his office for political activities like attending political debates on TV on behalf of the ruling AAP. Subsequently, Shah’s office was sealed on orders of LG Saxena in November.