Maliwal calls Kejriwal anti-women

A day after joining the BJP, in a massive setback to the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, its Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Saturday blasted the former Delhi Chief Minister and called him “anti-women” who is involved in corruption and “gundagardi (hooliganism)”, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the other hand, makes historic decisions.

Countering AAP’s “traitor” jibe at Maliwal and six other AAP MPs in Rajya Sabha who quit the party and merged with the BJP on Friday, she said that Kejriwal is the real traitor.

Maliwal said that when the former Delhi CM began his anti-corruption movement in 2011, he would wear torn pants, use a 2-rupee pen and drive around in a completely dilapidated car.

However, after coming to power, she alleged, he built a house worth Rs 100 crore, in reference to the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ controversy. Taking a broader swipe at AAP’s functioning, she said the party now stood for “lies, corruption and hooliganism.”

Maliwal said she had joined the BJP after careful consideration, not out of compulsion. She praised the “decisive and strong leadership” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Her remarks come days after more than two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs resigned from the party and joined the BJP, with Raghav Chadha leading the split.

Maliwal recalled the alleged assault on her two years ago as she spoke publicly on the issue after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Maliwal claimed that she was ‘intimidated and threatened’ when she tried to file an FIR against the incident.

Providing details of the incident, Maliwal alleged that she was assaulted by a close aide of Kejriwal at the chief minister’s residence in 2024 and faced sustained pressure to withdraw her complaint.

“I left my home, lived in ‘jhugis’ for seven years, quit my job and supported every movement. But when I tried to file an FIR after being assaulted, I was threatened and intimidated. For the past two years, I have been under constant pressure to take the case back, but I did not bow down,” she said.

She further added that her resistance led to her being sidelined within the party. “Because of this, I was not given even a minute by the party in the last two years to present my views in Parliament. This is very shameful. I believe Arvind Kejriwal is extremely anti-women.”