War of words between AAP, party MP Swati Maliwal over Afzal Guru. What happened?

AAP leader Dilip Pandey asked Maliwal to resign as Rajya Sabha MP and get elected on the BJP's ticket.

Published on: Sep 17, 2024, 15:21:18 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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The AAP on Tuesday suggested Swati Maliwal should resign as the party's Rajya Sabha member and accused her of reading from a ‘script’ given by the BJP.

MLA Dilip Pandey’s statement came after Maliwal slammed the AAP for picking minister Atishi as the successor to outgoing Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, saying that the Kalkaji legislator’s parents were among the signatories of a letter seeking presidential pardon for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru (hanged in February 2013).

“It is a sorrowful day for Delhi. A woman, whose parents fought to save terrorist Afzal Guru, is being made chief minister. According to them, he (Guru) was innocent and was framed as part of a political conspiracy. While Atishi will be a ‘Dummy CM,’ this matter pertains to national security,” the ex-Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) boss, posted on X.

Pandey hit back: “Swati Maliwal got her Rajya Sabha ticket from the AAP but her script comes from the BJP. If she has some shame, she should resign from Rajya Sabha and get elected on a BJP ticket.”

The Maliwal-AAP ties have been strained since her alleged assault by Bibhav Kumar, Kejriwal's former private assistant, at the CM's residence. She claims that Kejriwal was present during the assault by Bibhav, who is on bail.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, AAP supremo Kejriwal surprised everyone by announcing he would resign as chief minister ‘in 48 hours’ and accept the post only after the public gives him a ‘certificate of honesty.’ This came two days after the Supreme Court's bail in the liquor policy case.

Delhi will hold assembly elections in February. Arvind Kejriwal has been the CM since December 2013 and is serving his third term. He was on interim bail when the Maliwal incident occurred (May 13), three days after the top court's temporary relief.

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