"Was told if you file complaint, party will leave you isolated, portray as BJP agent": Swati Maliwal over assault row

New Delhi [India], May 23 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who has filed an assault complaint against Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar, has said she was told that if she files a police complaint, the party will portray her as an agent of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In an interview with ANI, Maliwal said AAP initially backed her and then made a complete U-turn and made allegations against her.
Maliwal, who turned emotional, said she was told that nobody will stand with her, and that she did not think of what would happen to her or her career or what "would these people do" as she decided to file a police complaint.
She said AAP MP Sanjay Singh came to her house and, after seeing everything, backed her at a press conference the next day. She said she had been told not to file a complaint and action will be taken against Bibhav Kumar.
"He saw my condition. They saw that the woman, who was always a fighter, has now become a victim. He saw everything. I was crying. I was in pain. And I kept telling everyone again and again what happened to me. Seeing my condition, he also went to Arvindji's house. He told me that he spoke to Bibhav also. And after seeing everything, the next day he also held a press conference, in which he said that Swati is a very vocal voice for women in this country and she was hit badly. And that is why Arvind ji is attending to it and Arvind ji will take action against Bibhav. The whole country has seen this press conference. I was told, you do not lodge the complaint, we will take action," Maliwal told ANI.
Following his meeting with Maliwal, Sanjay Singh had said on May 15 at a press conference that Bibhav Kumar "misbehaved" with Swati Maliwal at the CM's residence and that Kejriwal has directed that strict action be taken against him.
Maliwal said next day Bibhav Kumar accompanied Kejriwal during his visit to Lucknow for campaigning in Lok Sabha polls.
"On the day I lodged the complaint, when I woke up, the first thought that came to my mind was that thousands of girls, lakhs of girls, had come to me, and they had come to me with such severe crimes, I always gave them courage and I always told them that no matter what happens, you should fight, even if the whole world turns against you, you should fight even if you have to fight it all alone you should fight. That's why when I woke up, I felt so guilty that I dared so many women to fight and when I faced with such a situation, why am I not filing a complaint. I have to file a formal complaint because it is a criminal case. This is not a case that the party can brush it off under the carpet. That's why I filed a complaint," Maliwal said.
Maliwal said she was told the entire party will "isolate" her if she filed a complaint.
"And this thought kept coming back to me that a man can dare so much that he can beat a Member of Parliament, the former chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women, in such a bad manner inside the CM's drawing room. Then what he can do with a woman who doesn't have powers? Those thoughts came into my mind...I gathered enough strength and decided that I will fight and I will complain," she said.
"I was told that if you file this complaint then the entire party will isolate you. I was told that the entire party will portray you as an agent of BJP. I was told that nobody will stand with me. Still, I didn't think what would happen to me, what would happen to my career, what would these people do with me," Maliwal said as she almost broke down.
Maliwal said "all hell has broke loose" in her life after she filed the complaint.
"I just thought that the thing that I say to other women is that you should always stand by the truth, you should make real complaints if something wrong has happened to you, you should fight...then how can I not stand up for myself. So there was only one thought in my mind and that is why I filed a formal complaint," she said.
"And whatever they threatened me with and told me, turned out to be true because after I lodged the complaint all hell has broken loose in my life. The whole party has been ranged against me. Press conferences are held every day. Every day, they say that I am an agent of BJP," she added.
The AAP MP accused Delhi ministers of spreading lies that an FIR has been filed against her for corruption and that she filed the assault case on the instructions of the BJP.
"Let me tell you something, I have been in public life for nine years, before that I had been working since 2006 but I was working in the backend. Since 2015, I have been working on the field. I have raised so many major issues in this country without giving any fear. So today I became a BJP agent. I was 'lady singham till that day I did not file complaint. I was the most outspoken voice of the women of this country till that day. And as soon as I filed a complaint against such a person who holds a lot of influence in the party and is loved by everyone, just like I filed my complaint against such a person, then I became the agent of BJP. It has been said that BJP has intimidated me over a case against me," she said.
Maliwal referred to Delhi Minister Atishi's allegations against her about the 2016 case and said it is "absolutely false case".
"The case was filed against me in 2016. This is absolutely a false case. There is no merit in the case. A chargesheet was filed in 2017. I was never arrested in this case and will never be arrested because the chargesheet has been filed. I was given tenure in Delhi Mahila Commission twice more after this case. By CM sahib too, by LG sahib too. So this thing is absolutely clear that this is absolutely a false case. Around one-and-a-half years ago, the High Court put a stay on the case and in the stay the court has said that if there is no transactions then how can there be corruption. Therefore, in this case, in which the High Court has already given a stay, should I be afraid?" Maliwal asked.
Atishi had claimed earlier that Maliwal was "blackmailed" by the BJP to become part of the "conspiracy" against the Chief Minister.
"The BJP has a pattern. First they file cases and then threaten to send leaders to jail. Swati Maliwal is facing charges in an illegal recruitment case registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch...," Atishi had said.
Maliwal expressed her readiness to undergo a polygraph test and urged the police to conduct the same. She alleged that she had been "victim-shamed" by the party.
"I have met Nirbhaya's mother and she said one thing which I could never forget in my life. She told me that sometimes I feel like it is good that my daughter is no longer in this world because at least she did not have to go through all the humiliation that exists in this country during the journey towards justice. In Nirbhaya case, questions were asked why she chose to go by bus and not take an auto, why she went out at night, why she didn't go during the day, and who was that boy... So this type of victim shaming happens to every girl and it is not something new," Maliwal told ANI.
"When did I say in the FIR that my clothes were torn, when did I say in the FIR that my head was wound... I wrote exactly what happened to me, word to word. I did not write anything more or beyond. And if I am wrong then I am ready to undergo polygraph test and I want police to do it. Everything will be clear then..."
"I want the police to conduct a polygraph test on me because how can I live with this thing that a girl who has always given courage to girls to fight...today you have portrayed me as one who made false allegations before the whole world. This is a huge blow to the cause of the entire women's movement. So I am willing to do anything to tell that it is actually the truth," Maliwal said.
Maliwal lodged a complaint with the Delhi police against Bibhav Kumar on May 14, a day after the alleged assault took place. A day later, Bibhav Kumar lodged a counter-complaint with the police, accusing Maliwal of gaining 'unauthorised entry' into the CM's Civil Lines residence and 'verbally abusing' him.
A case was filed against Bibhav Kumar and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate the case based on Maliwal's complaint. Bibhav was arrested by the Delhi Police on May 19 and is currently in police custody.