AAP asks Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal to quit over controversial remarks on Atishi

Maliwal expressed her displeasure at Atishi's appointment, calling it a "sad day for Delhi".

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday asked its Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who has accused Arvind Kejriwal's aide of assaulting her, to quit the Upper House following her comments about Delhi's chief minister-designate Atishi Marlena.

Shortly after AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal announced that the senior minister would take over from him as the chief minister, Maliwal, who has been at loggerheads with the party, took to microblogging site X and described Atishi's appointment as a "sad day for Delhi".

"Today is a very sad day for Delhi. Today, a woman whose family fought a long battle to save terrorist Afzal Guru from being hanged is being made the Chief Minister of Delhi. His parents wrote mercy petitions to the Honorable President to save terrorist Afzal Guru. According to him, Afzal Guru was innocent and was framed as part of a political conspiracy," she said.

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Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) September 17, 2024

Describing CM-designate Atishi as the "dummy CM", Maliwal wrote, "Although Atishi Marlena is just a 'dummy CM', still this issue is related to the security of the country. May God protect Delhi!"

She also shared a mercy petition signed by Atishi’s father, Vijay Singh, and her mother, Tripta Wahi, which was addressed to then-President Pranab Mukherjee. The petition urged the President to stop Guru’s execution and called for a parliamentary inquiry into the case, saying, "We, therefore, appeal to you (The President) to not only set aside the punishment given to Mohd Afzal but also to facilitate a Parliamentary inquiry into the entire episode".

In an old video, Atishi’s mother is heard criticising Guru's execution, saying, "We are unhappy that Afzal has been made, in our understanding, a scapegoat".

Maliwal also posted a video message, saying, "This is an extremely unfortunate day for Delhi. A woman like Atishi is going to become the CM of Delhi, whose own family fought a long battle to save terrorist Afzal Guru from death penalty. Her parents wrote mercy petitions to the President several times, that he was innocent, that he should not be hanged, and that he was a victim of political conspiracy. How wrong is this? Today, Atishi will become the CM but we all know that she will be only a "dummy CM". Still, this is a major issue because she will be the CM and this matter is directly linked to the security of the country as well as Delhi. God save the people of Delhi from such a CM".

Atishi had addressed the controversy in 2019. “I am not responsible for any political decisions made by my parents. The responsibility and accountability for those actions lie with them and they are fully capable of expressing their own views. I can speak for myself, and I was not in support of that decision,” she said in an interview to Amar Ujala.

Reacting to Maliwal's remarks, party MLA Dilip Pandey demanded her resignation from the Rajya Sabha, accusing her of furthering BJP's interest . "Swati Maliwal goes to the Rajya Sabha on AAP’s support but follows the BJP’s script. She should seek a Rajya Sabha ticket from the BJP if she has any sense of shame or morality left and should resign immediately," he said.

The Aam Aadmi Party named Atishi as the chief minister of Delhi, two days after Kejriwal  said he would quit the position. Kejriwal proposed Atishi's name for the top job during a legislative party meeting.

A few months ago, Maliwal accused Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar of assaulting her at the chief minister’s residence, leading to a public spat with the party. Kumar was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court in the case.