Kejriwal ‘anti-women’, AAP using Punjab as ‘personal ATM’: Swati Maliwal after joining BJP
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Kejriwal ‘anti-women’, AAP using Punjab as ‘personal ATM’: Swati Maliwal after joining BJP")
MP Swati Maliwal speaks in Rajya Sabha during the Budget Session of Parliament Photograph: (ANI)
Announcing her exit from the AAP, Maliwal said she had been associated with Kejriwal since 2006 and supported him during various movements, including the RTI and Anna movements.
A day after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a major setback to the Aam Aadmi Party, Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Saturday launched a sharp attack on party chief Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of being “anti-women” and indulging in “corruption and gundagardi”.
Speaking to ANI after formally joining the BJP, Maliwal said she took the decision voluntarily and expressed confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I joined the BJP not under any compulsion, but because I believe in the leadership of PM Modi. I urge all those who want to do constructive politics to join the BJP,” she said.
Announcing her exit from the AAP, Maliwal said she had been associated with Kejriwal since 2006 and supported him during various movements, including the RTI and Anna movements. However, she alleged that the party had abandoned its founding principles and that she later faced harassment and pressure within the organisation.
“I have left the AAP and joined the BJP. Since 2006, I have been working with Arvind Kejriwal and supported him during every agitation. However, Arvind Kejriwal had me beaten up by a goon in my own house. I was threatened when I raised my voice against it, and he put immense pressure on me to withdraw the FIR I lodged regarding this incident. I was denied any opportunity to speak in Parliament by the party for two years; this is very shameful. Arvind Kejriwal is anti-women,” she said.
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Maliwal also targeted AAP’s governance in Punjab, alleging that the state government was being “remotely controlled” and describing Punjab as a “personal ATM” for the party leadership. She claimed that sand mining and drug usage were at their peak and alleged that FIRs were filed against leaders who raised their voices against the government.
Contrasting Kejriwal with Modi, Maliwal praised the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for what she called decisive governance. “On the other hand, we have PM Modi, who is the most popular leader in the world. Be it during Operation Sindoor, when we killed enemies by entering their homes and ending Naxalism, or introducing the women’s reservation bill in Parliament, PM Modi and Amit Shah have taken historic decisions for the development of the nation,” she said.
In a post on X, Maliwal detailed her political journey and reiterated allegations that she was assaulted by a close aide of Kejriwal at his residence, claiming the leadership protected the accused. “At his residence, on his signal, I was brutally beaten and treated with utmost indecency. To protect his goon, he went to extreme lengths and rewarded him with high positions,” she said.
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Her remarks come amid a wider churn in the AAP, with Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal announcing their exit from the party along with several other Rajya Sabha MPs, signalling a significant political shift.
