Delhi women's panel chief biased, should be removed: Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party has hardened its position on its demand seeking the removal of Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Barkha Singh, who has been accused by party members of having "politicised" her office while dealing with law minister Somnath Bharti. The Malviya Nagar AAP MLA finds himself in the dock for masterminding the midnight raid at Khirkee Extension.

"Mrs Singh is from the Congress. Her decisions have political motives. She is biased and is not conducting her duties properly. We demand that she be replaced by an unbiased person," Mr Kejriwal told reporters today.

The AAP has proposed the name of Hindi novelist Maitreyi Pushpa to replace Mrs Singh at the DCW. Their candidate for the job, party members claim, has the right credentials to take up the responsibility.

The AAP also cites long-held tradition to seek Mrs Singh's ouster from the DCW.  She is a former Congress MLA, and she should have resigned after her party was ousted from power in the recent Assembly elections. Following a party directive, all Congress members had relinquished their positions on the various Delhi government boards and commissions following the electoral drubbing. Mrs Singh, however, continued on her post.

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The AAP and the government led by it trained their guns on the DCW chairperson after a widely-publicised spat between and Mr Bharti's lawyers last week in the wake of her refusal to allow them to present the minister's response in the case.

Claiming that a lawyer had misbehaved with her, Ms Singh said she has written to the Lt Governor with the recommendation that an FIR be filed against Mr Bharti in the midnight raid case.

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DCW had summoned Mr Bharti over allegations that he had led a group of AAP workers  on January 15 on a raid against some African women in south Delhi after claiming they were involved in a drug and prostitution racket.