NEW DELHI: A day after Aam Aadmi Party leader Swati Maliwal accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s private secretary Bibhav Kumar of misbehaving with her, the party sought to limit the damage by admitting the crime, adding stern action would be taken against the accused.
Swati Maliwal is AAP’s Rajya Sabha member and former head of the Delhi Commission for Women. She was assaulted at the chief minister’s residence on Monday. Maliwal alerted the police but did not file a formal complaint.
The party took more than 30 hours to react to the controversy that came bang in the middle of the general elections.
“Yesterday (Monday) morning, Maliwal went to Arvind Kejriwal’s residence to meet him. While she was waiting in the drawing room, Bibhav Kumar came there and misbehaved with Swati Maliwal. She had reported the incident to the police by calling on the number 112. We deeply condemn this incident. Kejriwal has taken cognisance of the incident and called for strict action,” said party leader Sanjay Singh.
Maliwal, Singh said, is one of the oldest and senior-most AAP leaders. “We are all standing with her. The chief minister has taken this issue seriously and strict action will follow. I want to make it clear that the AAP does not support such people,” he added.
As per the police log, a PCR call from Maliwal came in at 9.34 am on Monday, alleging that she had been assaulted by one of the chief minister’s staff. “As per information, the lady is saying that she is at the CM’s house and has been assaulted by CM’s PA Bibhav Kumar,” a note on the PCR call read.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva lit into the AAP’s silence on the incident on Monday, saying it reflected the mentality of the party.