BJP assails Kejriwal for evading question on Maliwal 'assault', seeks his resignation

NEW DELHI: The BJP, on Thursday hit out at Arvind Kejriwal for evading media questions on the alleged assault on his party MP Swati Maliwal at his residence here, and alleged the Delhi chief minister is behaving more like a "goon".

The Aam Aadmi Party convener was addressing a press conference earlier in the day at Lucknow with Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav where the Delhi chief minister was asked about the incident.

Kejriwal avoided the question and it was fielded by AAP MP Sanjay Singh, who was also there. Singh said his party has already made its stand clear on the issue.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva assailed the chief minister for skipping media queries, and demanded he resign immediately, taking responsibility for the incident.

BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia claimed Kejriwal is the main "criminal" in the incident of his aide Bibhav Kumar allegedly physically attacking Maliwal at the chief minister's residence. Bhatia also referred to a telephone call Maliwal had made to the Delhi Police to report the matter on the day of the incident.

"His (Kejriwal's) silence speaks a lot. Out of jail, he is more a 'goonda' than a chief minister," Bhatia told reporters.

Bibhav Kumar, Bhatia noted, was photographed with Kejriwal during his visit to Lucknow.

At the press conference, Sanjay Singh went on to cite the incidents of crimes against women in Manipur, women wrestlers' complaint against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and the Prajwal Revanna case to hit back at the BJP.

The AAP has made its stand clear in the Maliwal case and no one should play politics over it, Singh said.

Bhatia noted that Singh had acknowledged that a condemnable incident had occurred against Maliwal, saying that Kejriwal was expected to act in a case involving a party colleague. Instead, the accused is travelling with him like a "twin brother", he said.

"This shows Kejriwal has no commitment to justice for women, while the BJP is fighting for justice for an opposition leader," he said, accusing him of cowardice.

He demanded the AAP leader should break his silence, or if he is a coward, he should resign, Bhatia said.

Saying the woman Rajya Sabha MP has been incommunicado since the incident, the BJP leader asked if she has been kidnapped or forcibly kept away from the public eye.

He also took a swipe at Yadav over his attempt to downplay the incident by claiming that it is not a big issue. Targeting the Samajwadi Party, Bhatia recalled the late SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav's controversial defence of some men accused of rape by claiming "they are boys, they at times make mistakes".

Sachdeva echoed Bhatia in attacking Akhilesh Yadav, and said nothing else was expected from him.

Sachdeva said Kejriwal was seen with Bibhav Kumar and Sanjay Singh in a photo at Lucknow airport which shows how seriously the chief minister is taking the matter.

"They are travelling with the person (Kumar) whom they consider an offender.

Lies, deceit and cunning are characters of Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party," the Delhi BJP president charged.

"Was it not a responsibility of Kejriwal who holds the constitutional post of chief minister and was present at his home at the time of the incident, to lodge a police complaint," he questioned.