NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha MP and former Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal has written to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accusing his ministers of “undermining the women’s panel.”
Maliwal had stepped down from the post following her nomination to the Rajya Sabha.
“Ever since I resigned from the post of chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, the ministers and officers of Delhi government have opened a front against the commission. None of the staff has been paid salary for the last six months, the budget has been reduced by 28.5%, 181 helpline has been withdrawn and no work has been done to fill the posts of chairman and two members.” she said on Tuesday in a post on X.
Maliwal further stated, “The post of a Dalit member is lying vacant for 1.5 years! As soon as I left, every possible effort was being made to make the Women’s Commission a weak institution again. Why is the Delhi government showing hostility towards women? I have written a letter to Arvind Kejriwal ji seeking his reply!”
On Monday, Delhi Women and Child Development Minister Kailash Gahlot said the 181 women’s helpline number would remain inoperative for a few days. He said the helpline operated by the DCW so far will now be run by his department as per the Centre’s recent order and will take a few days to transfer.
Backing Swati Maliwal’s claim, BJP MPs Kamaljeet Sehrawat and Bansuri Swaraj alleged that the letter by the former DCW chief is evidence of “Kejriwal’s insensitivity towards women’s safety.”