Editorial: AAP Makes Kejriwal’s Aide The Fall Guy

Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Chief Minister, is easily the most crafty politician around. No trick, no manipulation, twist and low turn is beyond him. His clever use of the media in return of generous advertising rupees from the taxpayers’ kitty is now beginning to prove counter-productive. Self-praise and constant chest-beating about his being “one hundred percent kattar imandaar” has now few takers given that the Delhi government is mired in several malpractices and corruption cases. On Monday, the AAP member of the Rajya Sabha accused the CM and his close aide, one Bibhav Kumar, of pushing and slapping her when she went to his house to meet him regarding an undisclosed matter. She immediately phoned the police, and soon after went to the police station, but, significantly, stopped short of lodging a formal report. Given the known proximity of Maliwal to Kejriwal, who was made the chairperson of the Delhi Women’s Commission, and only a couple of months ago nominated by the AAP boss to the Rajya Sabha, molestation at the CM’s house was really shocking. A day later, in a crude way to do damage control, the AAP claimed Kumar misbehaved with her. At whose behest, and why? Are some of the obvious questions dangling in the air. The whole affair smacks of an ugly bid to browbeat the woman MP into doing the arbitrary bidding of the AAP supremo.