BJP MP Tejasvi Surya slammed Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday, saying that his “character came out” in the way efforts were made to “silence and remove evidence” in Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal's “assault” case. Speaking to the media in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya, he said that the incident had exposed AAP's culture and DNA and urged Delhi residents to “remove the AAP government”.
Tejasvi Surya, as quoted by ANI, said, “Kejriwal's character and the political culture of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to light after this incident. I also want to tell the people of Delhi that if women want to have a safe and secure environment, then they should remove the AAP government as soon as possible.”
He added, “Arvind Kejriwal and AAP are part of the urban naxal gang. Women in his party are not safe. The way efforts are being made to silence Swati Maliwal, remove evidence, and the atrocities committed on an MP demonstrate the culture of AAP... Arvind Kejriwal's character, political culture, and AAP's DNA have been exposed.”
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Swati Maliwal speaks up on ‘assault’ against her at Kejriwal's residence
Swati Maliwal, in an interview with the news agency ANI, said that Bibhav Kumar, chief minister Kejriwal's aide, is a very “influential and powerful man” within the AAP. Maliwal claimed that Arvind Kejriwal was present at his residence during the incident when Bibhav Kumar assaulted her. This statement contradicts Kejriwal's assertion on Wednesday that he was “not present at the location” of the alleged assault.
{{/usCountry}}Swati Maliwal, in an interview with the news agency ANI, said that Bibhav Kumar, chief minister Kejriwal's aide, is a very “influential and powerful man” within the AAP. Maliwal claimed that Arvind Kejriwal was present at his residence during the incident when Bibhav Kumar assaulted her. This statement contradicts Kejriwal's assertion on Wednesday that he was “not present at the location” of the alleged assault.
{{/usCountry}}This interview, which was released on Thursday marks the first time Maliwal has verbally recounted the incident, as her previous account was detailed in her FIR against Bibhav.
Calling Bibhav Kumar the “raazdaar” (the one who keeps secrets) of Delhi chief minister, Swati Maliwal alleged that Kejriwal's personal aide is far from being an “ordinary personal assistant” emphasising that the entire party is “afraid” of him.
Meanwhile, in his initial response to the alleged assault case, Arvind Kejriwal stated that there are two versions of the event and that the police should conduct a reasonable investigation into both accounts.
A case has been lodged against Kejriwal's aide following Swati Maliwal's complaint, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up to investigate the issue. After a late-night hearing on May 18, a Delhi court ordered Bibhav Kumar to be held in police custody for five days.