New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS): Holding a protest outside Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal's residence, the BJP's Mahila Morcha has criticised the former Chief Minister over the failure to address the issue of women security.
Targeting Kejriwal for organising a 'Mahila Adalat' on Monday, the BJP leaders questioned him over the Swati Maliwal case and the allegations of AAP MLA Somnath Bharti assaulting his wife and what actions were taken by the party in these cases.
BJP MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat said that he "can't get rid of all his wrongdoings" just by organising a 'Mahila Adalat'.
Lashing out at him over the presence of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, she further pointed to former CM Mulayam Singh Yadav's remarks on rape incident.
"Today the former Delhi CM organised a 'Mahila Adalat' and that too with a person whose father Mulayam Singh Yadav had said something during the Nirbhaya incident which still hurts. When he (Arvind Kejriwal) is organising this, has he forgotten that Somnath Bharti, who has been given a ticket again (for the Delhi assembly elections), had assaulted his wife when she was pregnant?" she said.
"When a woman Rajya Sabha MP from his own party (Swati Maliwal) was assaulted by his private secretary (Bibhav Kumar), he sided with his secretary. The biggest betrayal of women was the Excise Policy. Arvind Kejriwal cannot get rid of all the wrongdoings he has done by just organising a 'Mahila Adalat'," she further said.
Sehrawat further asked what actions were taken against Kejriwal's private secretary Bibhav Kumar and why was the former CM standing with Somnath Bharti.
"In Delhi's Mahila Aayog since last two years why SC women have not been appointed which is compulsory? Why is there no chairman in Mahila Aayog? In the Lok Sabha polls the women voters have voted for BJP which would be repeated in Assembly polls," she added.
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj also attacked Kejriwal accusing his AAP government of not taking any responsibility in the last 10 years.
"Today, Nirbhaya's soul must be feeling very ashamed, when that girl was raped, to gain power, AAP's top leadership had talked many big things about women's safety, but it is very sad that despite having a woman Chief Minister, the AAP government has only enjoyed power for a decade, without taking responsibility," Bansuri Swaraj said.
"Today, you thought of organising 'Mahila Adalat', but where was (Arvind) Kejriwal when his secretary misbehaved with a woman MP of his party in his house, beat her up and Kejriwal protected the same accused and made him the Chief Advisor of Punjab. Today, he shared a stage with a leader whose father once said 'ladke hain, galti ho jaat hai' on the subject of women's safety," he added.
Arvind Kejriwal organised a 'Mahila Adalat' on Monday, during which he came out heavily against the BJP-led Centre over the rise in crime incidents against women in the national capital.
He also appealed the women voters to vote for AAP in the upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi.
"Women are more intelligent than men...I have a special appeal to all the mothers and sisters of Delhi, it is your responsibility to vote for the broom and get it voted for in this election," he said in a post on X.
The former CM also thanked SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for joining the 'Mahila Adalat' on Monday.
Meanwhile, AAP has released the list of all 70 candidates for the Delhi Assembly polls. The Assembly polls in Delhi are expected to be held in early 2025.
After winning 67 out of 70 seats in 2015, AAP again won 62 seats in the 2020 Assembly elections. While BJP took its tally to eight seats, Congress failed to open its account for the second straight time.