Swati Maliwal row: ‘I always stand with women’, says Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Swati Maliwal had gone to Delhi's Civil Lines police station and alleged that Arvind Kejriwal's PS Bibhav Kumar assaulted her at the CM's residence

Published on: May 16, 2024, 15:36:12 IST

By HT News Desk

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Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday reacted to the alleged assault on Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, saying she will stand with the woman if any atrocity is committed against her.

"If any atrocity happens to any woman anywhere, we stand with the woman. I always stand with women - irrespective of which party they belong to. Secondly, AAP will discuss among themselves and make a decision. It is up to them," Vadra told news agency ANI.

Swati Maliwal, a former Delhi Commission for Women chief, had gone to Delhi's Civil Lines police station and alleged that Arvind Kejriwal's personal secretary Bibhav Kumar assaulted her at the CM's residence.

The Aam Aadmi Party confirmed the incident with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh saying that Kejriwal had asked for strict action.

“Yesterday a very condemnable incident occurred. Swati Maliwal came to CM’s residence to meet Arvind Kejriwal. While she was waiting in the drawing room for Kejriwal, Bibhav Kumar (CM’s private secretary) arrived there and misbehaved with her,” Singh said at a press conference.

AAP MP Swati Maliwal and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“Swati Maliwal called the police on 112 and informed them about the incident. Delhi CM has taken cognisance of the entire incident and asked for strict action in the matter,” he added.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has summoned Kejriwal's personal secretary Bibhav Kumar to appear before it on May 17.

The incident has triggered a massive political row with the Bharatiya Janata Party attacking Kejriwal for maintaining silence at a press conference in Lucknow over the issue.

"His (Kejriwal) silence speaks a lot. Out of jail, he is more a 'goonda' than a chief minister," he told reporters, noting that Kumar was seen with the chief minister in Lukcnow. Stringent action should be taken against the accused in the case," BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said.

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