Swati Maliwal under pressure, Kejriwal must speak on assault incident: Ex-AAP minister

New Delhi, May 15: Raaj Kumar Anand, a former minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, described the assault of Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal inside Delhi CM’s residence as condemnable, shameful and a black spot on politics.

Swati Maliwal, former Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) chief and AAP Rajya Sabha member, was allegedly assaulted inside the CM’s residence by Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar on Monday. She also made a PCR call and complained about the physical assault.

Anand, a former minister in the Kejriwal cabinet, demanded that the Delhi Chief Minister come clean on the issue, given the gravity of the incident.

“Maliwal was attacked inside the drawing room of the Chief Minister’s residence. Arvind Kejriwal must speak on the issue,” he demanded.

“It is Chief Minister’s responsibility to set the records straight on the issue and not by someone who is sitting kilometres away,” he further stated, in a jibe at Sanjay Singh’s statement that the perpetrator will be punished.

Anand also told IANS that Swati Maliwal is being ‘pressurised’ to not lodge a formal complaint.

“If a Rajya Sabha member is not safe in the capital, then who else would be safe,” he said.

Notably, the woman MP had gone to the police station, soon after making a PCR call. But, she told the police that she would come later to file a complaint. Eyewitnesses claimed that she decided to defer a formal police complaint, after receiving some phone calls.

Raaj Kumar Anand also said that he and his supporters will raise their voices against the assault and oppression under the Kejriwal government.

Anand, who recently joined BSP, is contesting Lok Sabha elections from New Delhi.

Earlier in the day, party workers led by Delhi BJP President Virender Sachdeva held a demonstration outside Arvind Kejriwal’s residence and demanded a thorough probe into Maliwal’s assault.