Swati Maliwal writes to INDIA bloc leaders, seeks time to ‘discuss assault’
The HinduAam Aadmi Party leader Swati Maliwal on Tuesday wrote to leaders of the INDIA bloc constituents, seeking time with them to discuss the alleged assault she was subjected to at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence by his aide, Bibhav Kumar. In the letter, which was addressed to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Ms. Maliwal claimed that due to the lies spread about her after going public with the news of the alleged assault, she had received several “rape and death threats” and been subjected to “victim-shaming” by her own party. The party had accused Ms. Maliwal of “lying” and conspiring with the BJP to defame the Chief Minister, while Mr. Kejriwal in an interview with The Hindu had declined to comment on the matter, terming it subjudice. Ms. Maliwal in the letter alleged that since the incident, instead of receiving support, she was confronted with “incessant attacks” on her character by AAP leaders and workers.