The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, accusing them of orchestrating an attack on former Delhi Commission for Women chief and Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal.
Many BJP leaders shared a picture on their social media handles, showing Bibhav Kumar, a close aide of the Delhi CM who allegedly "assaulted" Maliwal at the chief minister's official residence, with Delhi CM Kejriwal and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.
BJP spokesperson Shehzaad Poonawala hit out at Kejriwal, calling AAP an anti-women anarchist party.
Taking to X, Poonawal wrote, "72 hours, No FIR on Bibhav Kumar instead Kejriwal is protecting him ! Roaming around with him.. It is clear- attack on Swati Maliwal was done at behest of Kejriwal himself."
"Sheesh Mahal is Apradh Mahal & just like Draupadi cheerharan - a woman Rajya Sabha MP was subjected to violence , assault. Now she is being pressured to keep Silent or change her story as is evident from statements of Naveen Jaihind & Nitin Tyagi of AAP hence she hasn’t approached the police yet. True face of AAP - Anti women anarchist party."
Delhi BJP leader, Kapil Mishra in a post on X, claimed that the picture was captured at Lucknow airport on Wednesday.
"This is the photo of Lucknow airport last night. The one in the black shirt is Vibhav who hit Swati Maliwal. Sanjay Singh is also with them, who said that Bibhav did a very wrong thing and Kejriwal is upset. The third one is Kejriwal himself who is accused of getting Swati beaten up," said Kapil in a tweet.
Notably, on May 13, Swati Maliwal alleged that Kejriwal's personal assistant assaulted her at the Delhi CM's residence.
The news spread widely across various channels. Even, many BJP leaders voiced their support for Maliwal and urged her to be brave and open up about the incident.
Since then, Maliwal hasn't issued any statements on the issue. However, a day after the incident, AAP broke its silence. In a statement, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that Kejriwal's personal assistant, Bibhav Kumar, had "misbehaved" with Maliwal and that Kejriwal had directed stern action on the matter.
Following Sanjay Singh's press conference, Maliwal's ex-husband, Naveen Jaihind, released a video message on social media claiming that the ex-DCW chief's life is under threat and urging her to speak out. He alleged that AAP MP Sanjay Singh knows everything and is merely acting in front of TV cameras.