New Delhi. On the morning of 13 May, news came that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s private secretary Bibhav Kumar had assaulted AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the CM’s residence. Since then, the question is floating in the air that what was the reason behind this shameful incident that happened with Swati Maliwal, one of the founding members of Aam Aadmi Party and former chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW)? The story seems to be even more complicated. Because Bibhav Kumar has been working as a close associate of Kejriwal since his NGO days. Whereas Maliwal had a big stature in that setup for a long time.
From the initial information that has come to light, the matter seems to be something else. Maliwal’s FIR contains shocking details of how Bibhav Kumar attacked her chest, waist and stomach. Reliable sources told IANS that Maliwal was attacked by a close aide of Kejriwal after he refused to sign a prepared resignation letter to step down as AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP. Sources said the party leadership is keen to give Maliwal’s seat to a senior lawyer who is handling Kejriwal’s case in the courts.
In January this year itself, Maliwal was elected as AAP’s Rajya Sabha member from Delhi. His tenure will end in 2030. Whoever you give the ticket for the by-election for the Rajya Sabha seat (if such a situation arises), it is almost certain that he will win. When Kejriwal was arrested (in the excise policy case), Maliwal was abroad. When other party leaders were issuing statements on this matter, she was absent. Sources said he was asked to return to Delhi and participate in the Lok Sabha election campaign. But upon his return he was not given any major work.
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There has been some change in AAP since Kejriwal went to jail in the alleged liquor scam. However, Kejriwal remains the undisputed ‘boss’ and he has the final say in AAP. Some new power centres, whatever their capacity, are trying to make a place for themselves and they have a lot of complaints against Maliwal. Sources said that Maliwal wanted to discuss these issues and some other things with Kejriwal. Therefore, she went to the CM’s official residence on the morning of 13 May. Sources also said that when Maliwal was asked to sign the resignation letter addressed to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, he asked, ‘Why that?’ There are nine other people from the party in the Rajya Sabha, so why not anyone else?
Tags: AAP, Arvind kejriwal, Delhi news, Swati Maliwal
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 17, 2024, 23:28 IST