On Wednesday, Delhi’s Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, asserted that the police plan to “question” his “elderly and ailing parents” about the claimed assault on AAP MP Swati Maliwal. Kejriwal shared the information on social media, stating, “Tomorrow, the Delhi Police will come to question my elderly and sick parents.”
Swati Maliwal, a Rajya Sabha member, alleges that she was attacked by Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar, within the premises of the chief minister’s residence.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has rallied behind Kejriwal’s aide, suggesting that the accusations are part of a plot orchestrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to frame him. AAP’s Atishi accused the BJP of exploiting an existing ACB case to coerce Maliwal into filing the complaint.
Bibhav Kumar has since been taken into custody.
Reports from ANI suggest that the police may also question Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal. Maliwal, in her judicial statement, claimed that Kejriwal’s wife and parents were present at the time of the alleged assault, leading to the police’s request for additional time to take their statements.
Atishi criticized the Delhi Police and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the direction of the investigation. She questioned the rationale behind interrogating Kejriwal’s octogenarian parents, highlighting their frail health and inability to be involved in such allegations.
Breaking his silence, Kejriwal expressed his desire for a thorough investigation, acknowledging the existence of conflicting accounts of the incident. Maliwal, however, criticized Kejriwal’s response, accusing him of attempting to discredit her with the help of his party’s machinery.
Maliwal also voiced her concerns over what she perceives as efforts to intimidate her through the leak of personal photographs, framing it as a conspiracy to undermine her.
AAP contends that Maliwal tried to see Kejriwal without an appointment, causing a disturbance.