NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha member and AAP leader Swati Maliwal on Tuesday wrote a letter to several INDIA bloc leaders, including former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, and sought time to discuss the alleged assault against her by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar at the former’s residence.
In her letter, Maliwal complained that she was subjected to “victim shaming and character assassination” for speaking up against the abuse.
Mailwal had alleged that Kumar assaulted her when she went to Kejriwal’s residence to meet him on May 13.
Based on her complaint, the Delhi Police arrested Kumar and was remanded to judicial custody.
The CM’s aide has denied all the allegations and lodged a counter complaint claiming that Maliwal “forcefully and illegally” trespassed into the CM’s House on May 13 and created a “ruckus” that had “falsely implicated” him in the assault case.
In her letter, Maliwal stated that after the assault, she encountered first-hand the pain and isolation a survivor faces when they fight for justice. She raised concerns over the “brutal victim shaming and character assassination” she has been subjected to as that shall discourage other women and girls from speaking up against abuse.
“Instead of finding support, I was confronted with incessant attacks on my character and victim shaming orchestrated by the leaders and volunteers of my own party,” she wrote.
Maliwal posted the letters addressed to NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar, SP head Akhilesh Yadav and Shiv Sena (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray as well. She said she has worked on the ground for the last 18 years and have heard 1.7 lakh cases in the women’s commission.