Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal has written a letter to the top leaders of opposition INDIA bloc, seeking time to discuss her alleged assault by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar. Maliwal claimed that she is being victim-shamed by her own party for speaking up against the abuse.
Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP is a key member of the INDIA bloc. Kejriwal is currently in jail in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. The Supreme Court had granted him interim bail in May to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections with a direction to return to Delhi’s Tihar by June 2.
In her letter addressed to opposition leaders like Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Maliwal said that she has been subjected to “victim shaming and character assassination” by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after she filed a case against Bibhav Kumar for the alleged assault.
The Rajya Sabha MP also shared the letter on X (formerly Twitter).
“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,” Maliwal wrote.
“Over the past one month, I have encountered first-hand pain and isolation a survivor faces when she fights for justice. . . I would like to seek your time to discuss this pertinent issue,” she added.
She said, “I have worked on the ground for the last 18 years and have heard 1.7 lakh cases in the Women’s Commission in 9 years. Without fearing anyone and bowing down to anyone, I have made the Women’s Commission stand in a very high position. But it is very sad that first I was beaten badly at the Chief Minister’s house, then my character was defamed.”
“Today, I have written a letter to all the big leaders of the INDIA alliance regarding this matter. I have asked for an appointment with everyone,” the letter said.
Last week, Delhi’s Tis Hazari court extended Bibhav Kumar’s judicial custody till June 22. Earlier this month, his second bail petition was also rejected by the court.
Maliwal filed a complaint against Kumar on May 16, alleging that he slapped and kicked her, beat her up, and abused her inside the CM’s official residence in Delhi when she requested to meet with him. She filed a complaint three days later alleging that no action had been taken against Kumar despite assurances from the party.
