The latest scandal to hit the Aam Aadmi Party has evoked a huge controversy. Swati Maliwal, a woman MP of the AAP, was allegedly assaulted at the Chief Minister’s house. Besides hogging the headlines, the Swati Maliwal episode represents a new low in politics, exposing the depths to which India’s newest national party has fallen. The flip-flop by the AAP on the incident raises suspicions about the party’s leadership itself. Senior party leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh met Maliwal a day after the incident. He admitted that something wrong had happened and the party would take appropriate action. The next day onwards, the party made a volte-face and started putting all the blame on Maliwal.
The alleged ‘assaulter’ Bibhav Kumar has not been sacked yet from the post of Private Secretary to the Chief Minister even after his arrest. He was even spotted with Kejriwal and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh preceding his arrest on May 18, suggesting that Kumar continues to enjoy the confidence of the Chief Minister. The party has put up its female minister, Atishi, to defend the AAP in this case. Atishi even called Maliwal a ‘liar’ and a pawn in BJP’s conspiracy. By fielding Atishi to counter Maliwal’s charges, Kejriwal has sought to play smartly by making it a kind of woman vs woman matter and attempting to debilitate the case before the public.
Since the day of the assault on Maliwal, Kejriwal has avoided speaking to the media on the issue. Kejriwal, instead of cleaning his act, is trying to give the issue a spin. Maliwal is no ordinary person. She is AAP’s chosen Rajya Sabha member, held the post of Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women for years and has been associated with Kejriwal for around two decades, much before the AAP came into existence. She had direct access to Kejriwal’s residence till May 13, the day she was suddenly stopped. What went wrong suddenly? There are several theories, including rumours that she was being asked to resign from Rajya Sabha. The truth will come out only when Maliwal spills the beans.
The main question that is doing the rounds is what was the provocation for this incident? The story seemed even more complex. Maliwal was abroad when Kejriwal was arrested in the excise policy case and was largely absent when other party leaders were busy with the Lok Sabha election. Whatever the reason behind the May 13 happening at Kejriwal’s residence, the fact is that AAP is now imploding under the enormous and rapid success it has achieved in a short time. The Swati Maliwal episode has raised a lot of questions about the AAP politics and its credibility. ‘Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. Kejriwal, who started as an anti-corruption crusader, should perhaps reflect on this.
