New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Tuesday lashed out at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his “deafening silence” on the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal and said that the latter called him to express concerns over reported tampering of evidence and coercion against her.

Saxena said it was “most disturbing” that the alleged scene of crime was the drawing room of the Chief Minister

In a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter) by Raj Niwas, Saxena said the Delhi Police is investigating the matter and it will be brought to its “logical conclusion.”

“I would have expected that, at least for the sake of propriety, my Chief Minister would have come clean, rather than being evasive and dodgy. His deafening silence speaks volumes of his stance on the safety of women,” Saxena said.

“Delhi is the national capital and is home to the entire diplomatic community from around the world and such shameful incidents and the insensitive and conspiratorial contemptuous government response, on an issue of women safety, tarnishes India’s image worldwide,” he said.

“Had such an incident happened in any other Chief Minister’s residence in the country, external forces with vested interests, inimical to India, would have unleashed a scathing global narrative around women safety in India. The absence of any outrage in this case leaves several questions unanswered,” the Lieutenant Governor added.

Furthermore, Saxena said it was “most disturbing” that the alleged scene of crime was the drawing room of the Chief Minister, even while he was allegedly present in the house, and that it was carried out by his “closest aide” on a woman who was alone.

“Yesterday, she called me out of sheer anguish, describing at length her traumatic experience, and the subsequent intimidation and shaming that she is being subjected to by her own colleagues. She also expressed concerns over reported tampering of evidence and coercion against her,” he said.

Reacting to Saxena’s remarks, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said Delhi Lieutenant Governor’s letter proves “Maliwal is working at the behest of BJP”.

“Sometimes they rake up the excise policy case, sometimes the Swati Maliwal incident and sometimes the allegation of party receiving foreign funding. BJP will use new tactics against us till polls. BJP is losing the polls badly and they are trying to lift their status using the Maliwal issue,” the party alleged.