Nirmala Sitharaman Criticizes Arvind Kejriwal in Swati Maliwal Assault Controversy

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a press conference at the BJP’s Delhi headquarters regarding an alleged assault that took place inside Arvind Kejriwal’s home while DCW chief Swati Maliwal was waiting to meet him. Sitharaman called for an apology from Kejriwal and criticized him for associating with the accused. She also mentioned previous cases of women-attack by AAP leaders and criticized the party for not fielding any women in Delhi’s Lok Sabha seats.

Sitharaman also referred to the Congress’ alliance with AAP and the expectation for them to vote for Somnath Bharti, who had been accused of assaulting his pregnant wife. She highlighted doubts over the safety of women in Delhi and accused Kejriwal of supporting assault against a woman. She also criticized the AAP for not fielding a woman in any of Delhi’s Lok Sabha seats.

Following the assault, Swati Maliwal spoke out about the incident and the AAP leader Sanjay Singh confirmed the “distressing incident” and mentioned that Kejriwal had issued orders to take strict action. The police confirmed receiving calls from inside Kejriwal’s residence, alerting them to the harassment. However, Kejriwal seemed to avoid questions from reporters on this topic, which fueled the accusations.