BJP Leaders Set Sights on AAP, Kejriwal Amid Maliwal 'Assault' Controversy

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticized AAP's Arvind Kejriwal for his silence on the alleged assault on AAP MP Swati Maliwal. Maliwal claimed an assault by Kejriwal's aide, which AAP denied, calling it a BJP conspiracy. BJP leaders accused the opposition of an anti-women mindset and criticized their reservation policies. Campaigning intensifies for the Delhi Lok Sabha elections.

BJP leader and Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday flayed AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, saying his silence on the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at his residence is ''shameful''.

Campaigning in East Delhi constituency's Laxmi Nagar for Harsh Malhotra, the Union finance minister said Kejriwal's ''silence'' on the allegation is ''surprising and shocking''.

''Leave alone talking about the incident or punishing the person, he was seen walking around with him. It is utterly shameful that a woman MP who headed the Delhi Commission for Women was treated like this,'' she said.

Maliwal has alleged Kejriwal's aide attacked her with full force, slapping and kicking her in the chest and abdomen, charges rejected as ''baseless'' by AAP, which accused her of being the face of a BJP conspiracy to frame the Delhi chief minister.

Sitharaman also ''feared'' that Maliwal was ''really threatened'' to stop her from coming forward and taking her struggle to a logical conclusion.

The finance minister interacted with students at Laxmi Nagar, known as a coaching hub for chartered accountant aspirants, as campaigning in Delhi for the Lok Sabha elections gain momentum.

Sitharaman said the youngsters are oriented towards the goal of a developed India and are already aiming for 2047.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, campaigning for the BJP's South Delhi candidate Ramvir Singh Bidhuri in Deoli, alleged that the INDIA bloc wants to implement OBC reservation for a particular community.

''They have given OBC reservation to a particular community in Karnataka. They want to implement this rule across the country. AAP is fully cooperating in this conspiracy by the Congress,'' Dhami charged.

He, however, asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the blessings of the people, will never let this ''conspiracy'' of the INDIA bloc succeed.

Dhami also trained his guns at the opposition alliance, saying the ''assault'' on Maliwal at the Delhi chief minister's residence reflected the anti-woman mindset of AAP and the Congress.

''If such indecent treatment is meted out to a woman MP, how would they have been behaving with ordinary women?'' he asked. The anti-women mindset of INDIA bloc parties is also reflected in the fact that the two parties have not fielded even one woman candidate in Delhi, he claimed.

Attending a women's meeting in support of the BJP's Chandni Chowk candidate Praveen Khandelwal, senior leader Kailash Vijayvarigya said Modi has enabled one crore women to become 'Lakahpati Didis'.

''The BJP has a target to make three crore women Lakhpati Didis, provided houses to four crore families living below the poverty line across the country, out of which three crore houses have been allotted in the name of women,'' he said.

Vijayvargiya said while the Modi-led BJP worked to empower the country's women, a woman MP was ''misbehaved with'' at the Delhi chief minister's residence.

''Now, the decision is in your hand on what kind of leader you want for the country,'' he said.

Vijayvargiya also took part in a rally at Sadar Bazaar in support of Khandelwal. Under a seat-share arrangement in Delhi, INDIA bloc constituents the Congress has fielded candidates from three seats while AAP is contesting from four.

Polling for the national capital's seven seats will be held in the sixth phase on May 25.