Delhi election: Maliwal responds to Kejriwal’s defeat with Draupadi ‘cheerharan’ post
AAP MP’s post is a reference to her allegations of being assaulted by Kejriwal’s former aide Bibhav Kumar in presence of the party chief
As Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal faced defeat in the hands of BJP candidate Parvesh Verma in the New Delhi seat, a post by AAP MP Swati Maliwal has gone viral on social media.
The uncaptioned post on X portrays a painting of Draupadi’s ‘cheerharan’ (disrobing) by the Kauravas in the epic Mahabharata.
Maliwal has maintained a strained relationship with Kejriwal and the party ever since she accused the AAP chief’s close aide Bibhav Kumar of beating her up in the drawing room of the chief minister’s residence and in his presence in May 2024. The post is said to be a reference to her allegations and an apparent sense of vindication with Kejriwal’s defeat in the polls.
Also read: Maliwal 'assault' case: Kejriwal was with Bibhav Kumar after incident, says chargesheet
Ravan metaphor
In another post, Maliwal, wrote, “Ahankar Ravan ka bhi nahi bacha tha (even Ravan’s ego was destroyed)”.
The Rajya Sabha MP has been targeting the AAP on various issues ever since the incident with Kumar. During the Haryana Assembly polls in October 2024, she accused Kejriwal of betraying the INDIA Bloc by campaigning in Haryana just to get back at the Congress, and hence splitting the Opposition’s votes in the process.
“If we see the history, if something wrong happens to any woman, god has punished those who commit that... It's because of the issues like water pollution, air pollution and the condition of the streets, that Arvind Kejriwal himself has lost his seat. They (AAP) think that they can lie and people will believe in them... People should do what they say but our (AAP) leadership forgot that and deviated from what they used to say... I congratulate the BJP. People have voted for them with hope - and they should work to fulfil that…" Maliwal told ANI while commenting on Kejriwal’s loss.
Protests over garbage issue, Yamuna cleaning
Maliwal was also recently detained by police after she strewed garbage outside Kejriwal's house in protest against alleged lack of initiative by the administration to clean the garbage-filled roads of Vikaspuri.
Also read: Delhi elections 2025 LIVE | Development, good governance won: PM Modi after Delhi victory
Maliwal and her aides had picked garbage from roads in Vikaspuri, collected it into three mini trucks and reached Kejriwal's house on Firozshah Road. She threw shovelful of garbage out on the ground there before she was accosted by female police personnel and removed from the site.
Maliwal and her aides who had also carried water from Yamuna, challenged the AAP chief to take a dip in the water while accusing him of living in luxury while the people of Delhi used water from the polluted river.
