(From left) senior AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atishi; Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: After second video of Swati Maliwal being escorted out of the Chief Minister’s residence emerged, AAP on Saturday alleged that the Rajya Sabha MP has become part of the "conspiracy" against Arvind Kejriwal as a case against her is near conclusion.
AAP alleged that she was put under pressure as part of the "BJP’s SOP" where it targets Opposition leaders with cases and cited the joining of Himanta Biswas Sarma and Praful Patel among others in the saffron camp.
Addressing a press conference here, senior AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atishi referred to the latest video and said that Maliwal’s claims in the FIR that she was badly beaten up and that her clothes were torn were “exposed”, as she was seen walking out of the residence escorted by police without any difficulty.
The two videos -- one emerged on social media on Friday in which Maliwal is seen sitting on a sofa in Kejriwal’s residence and talking to police personnel in a raised tone -- proves that her allegations were “lies”. It made it clear that they were part of a “huge conspiracy” against Kejriwal, she alleged.
She said several people are questioning how they can point fingers at the BJP for this episode, which they claim is an internal party manner. “You all know the BJP formula, the SOP where ED, CBI, police, EOW, ACB and all are put after opposition leaders…Maliwal was also facing a case investigated by ACB where she is accused of illegal recruitment of contractual employees in Delhi Commission for Women,” Atishi said.
“Now, in this case the time for conviction has come. She is being threatened with jail. She has come under pressure. She is being made part of the conspiracy,” she said.
Another thing that confirms the charges against the BJP is the way the whole machinery has functioned in this case, she claimed. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is directly monitoring the case, she said.
“The Delhi Police refused to give a copy of the FIR to Bibhav Kumar despite court orders. Today in the court, they filed a response saying the FIR is very sensitive and could not be shared with the accused or the court. Then how is this FIR being shared with the media for the past two days,” she said.
She also claimed that police have not acted on Kumar’s complaint against Maliwal for “breaching” security at the Chief Minister’s residence. The Delhi Police is not probing this complaint, as it has become a “weapon” in the hands of the MHA, she alleged.