Asking Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Barkha Singh why she should not be removed from her post for “abusing power in dealing with a complaint” against AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, the Arvind Kejriwal Government on Friday issued her a showcause notice, asking her to reply within three days. Barkha Singh, a former Congress MlA, is due to retire as DCW chief in July.
The notice was issued following a complaint against her by another member of the DCW panel Juhi Khan. The notice said that the complaint filed by Khan has brought to the notice of the Government the “irregular activities” being carried out by Singh in the capacity of DCW chairperson while dealing with a complaint filed against Kumar Vishwas.
Earlier this month, following complaints by an AAP volunteer accusing Vishwas of not rebutting “rumours” about an illicit relation with her and ruining her reputation, the DCW chief had issued summons to Vishwas. DCW member Khan had protested the summons and accused Singh of trying to defame the AAP leader.
The Government said that the summons issued to Vishwas were on a matter that falls outside the scope of the Commission. “The persons connected to the alleged incident are residents of state of Uttar Pradesh and the place of alleged incident is also in UP, hence prima facie, your notice is beyond the jurisdiction of the Commission,” reads the notice issued by the Government. It further adds that Singh held a Press conference on May 5 on the issue though there is no provision in the ‘Complaint Handling Policy’ of the Commission to hold public Press conference in any matter when such case is pending before DCW for decision.
“At this Press conference, you (Singh) had not only prevented another member of the Commission from placing her views but also you in person had maligned the member of Commission in full public view only because she had a different viewpoint. And further, you charged her of being member of AAP without any such facts being placed before you,” the notice said.
Reacting to the notice, the DCW chief asserted that she has done nothing wrong and that she has always worked for the cause of the distressed women. “I had never accused Kumar Vishwas nor do I have any personal enmity against him. It was when I received a complaint from this woman, who also had worked for his party only in Amethi, that I asked him to come to the Commission just to help save the family of the woman, which is falling apart,” she said.
AAP Government has also alleged that Singh issued another notice to Vishwas on May 5 to appear before the Commission on May 6 in an “unprecedented manner and in violation of clause g (ii) of ‘Complaint Handling Policy’ which mandated at least 15 days prior notice to be given to the parties”. On Thursday, the DCW chief had approached the lieutenant Governor and Delhi Police seeking “stringent” action against AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, alleging that he was behind the posting of a series of “inappropriate” and “objectionable” tweets on her.