New Delhi: The BJP on Sunday said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should not indulge in theatrics and instead break his "silence" on the alleged assault on AAP MP Swati Maliwal by his aide Bibhav Kumar. The reaction came after Kejriwal and his party workers and leaders held a massive protest near the BJP headquarters against Kumar's arrest in connection with the case.
"Kejriwal should break his silence instead of his 'dramebazi (theatrics)' and answer specific questions," Shehzad Poonawalla, the BJP's national spokesperson, said in a post on X. The BJP leader asked Kejriwal if he had ordered the "attack" on Maliwal at the chief minister's residence and gave patronage to Kumar because he knows his "dark secrets".
"Why is the CCTV (camera) footage missing? Did Kejriwal help Bibhav to destroy/tamper evidence, including CCTV (camera) footage from Shoshan Mahal (Kejriwal's residence)? Why release small clips and not full CCTV (camera) footage?" he said in the post. "Why U turn from what Sanjay Singh said 96 hours ago and why victim-shaming now by AAP?" the BJP leader asked.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, party MP Manoj Tiwari, who is seeking reelection from North East Delhi, alleged that Kejriwal held the protest to save Kumar. "Why is Arvind Kejriwal not saying anything on the Swati Maliwal case and speaking in favour of Bibhav Kumar, who is accused of beating her up? Why is he trying to save Bibhav Kumar? What is his compulsion?" Tiwari asked.
"Protesting in favour of the person who beat up a woman. What disgusting thinking. Everyone in Delhi is surprised and shocked," he charged. Tiwari said the people of Delhi want answers to questions on the alleged assault and wondered if he had come out on interim bail to do such things.
"The Supreme Court did not grant him complete (regular) bail. It (Supreme Court) wrote on your (Kejriwal) head that you are outright corrupt. There is a lot of proof against you. Yet, he got 20 days time that is becoming a subject of controversy a bit. There are many people who are asking why such treatment (was meted out to him)," he added.
The apex court has granted Kejriwal interim bail till June 1, the last day of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, and directed him to surrender and go back to jail on June 2. Tiwari also said Maliwal suffered serious injuries, according to her medical report, and sought to counter AAP's allegation that the BJP has come out in her support for political reasons.
The BJP is speaking for Maliwal because she is a woman and the party cannot be a mute spectator to atrocities against women, he said and accused AAP of levelling baseless allegations against the saffron party's involvement in the matter. Tiwari alleged that Kejriwal's "criminal face" has come out in the open with the Maliwal assault case and said the strictest action should be taken against those involved in the case, in accordance with the law.
Shazia Ilmi, another BJP national spokesperson, also flayed Kejriwal over the protest and said AAP should be renamed to "Aam Aapradhi Party". She alleged that AAP has released selective footage of Kejriwal's residence to show that Maliwal was not assaulted. "The Aam Aadmi Party has become synonymous with the 'dirty fix' department. They have released edited CCTV footage. Bibhav Kumar reformatted his mobile phone on May 14 itself, deleted all information," she charged.
Slamming AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atishi for alleging BJP's involvement in the assault case, Ilmi said, "She is lying." She also dared Atishi to present a proof of the BJP's involvement. "Operation Jhadoo (AAP's election symbol) will now take place on Operation Daru (liquor)," Ilmi said in an apparent reference to the alleged Delhi liquor scam while taking a swipe at Kejriwal's allegation that the BJP has launched an "Operation Jhadoo" to finish off AAP.
