Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Tuesday said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s “deafening silence” on the alleged assault on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Swati Maliwal, speaks volumes of his stance on the safety of women.
Maliwal had alleged CM’s Personal Secretary Bibhav Kumar of abusing and physically assaulting her on 13th May at the CM’s residence.
In his first reaction on the alleged incident at the residence of the CM, the LG in a statement said, “I have been deeply distressed over the unfolding media narrative over the last few days on the issue of alleged assault on AAP MP Swati Maliwal at the residence of CM, when she went there to meet him all alone. Yesterday, she called me out of sheer anguish, describing at length her traumatic experience, and the subsequent intimidation and shaming that she is being subjected to by her own colleagues.”
He said Maliwal expressed concern over reported “tampering of evidence and coercion” against her.
The LG noted that it was most disturbing to note that the alleged scene of crime was the drawing room of the CM and the same was carried out by his closest aide on a lady who was alone.
“Her fellow member of Rajya Sabha confirmed her narrative in full media glare, and assured that the CM would take firm action against the culprit – CM’s aide. Subsequently, a total U-turn was done in the matter, apparently at the behest of the highest functionary. This too is inexplicable and baffling. I would have expected that at least for the sake of propriety, my CM would have come clean, rather than being evasive and dodgy. His deafening silence speaks volumes of his stance on the safety of women,” Saxena said, referring to AAP MP Sanjay Singh’s statement on the alleged incident.
Last week, Singh said what happened with her was highly condemnable and the CM took cognizance of the matter and would take a strict action in this regard.
Stating that Delhi is the national capital and is home to the entire diplomatic community from around the world, the LG said, “ Such shameful incidents and the insensitive and conspiratorial contemptuous government response, on an issue of women safety, tarnishes India’s image worldwide.”
“Had such an incident happened in any other Chief Minister’s residence in the country, external forces with vested interests, inimical to India, would have unleashed a scathing global narrative around women safety in India. The absence of any outrage in this case leaves several questions unanswered,”he said.
Informing that Delhi Police is investigating the matter, Saxena said that the matter will be brought to its logical conclusion