"I Blame Arvind Kejriwal": AAP's Swati Maliwal On Party's Loss In Delhi Polls

AAP MP Swati Maliwal on Saturday blamed former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the party's loss in the assembly elections, calling him "arrogant". Speaking to NDTV, Ms Maliwal claimed that the AAP chief does not believe in internal democracy.

"I feel that if a person gets extremely arrogant and stops working for the people, then people teach that man a lesson. That is exactly what has happened with Arvind Kejriwal today. All of us have contributed so much to the party. We came with a vision that we would change Delhi...But unfortunately, we could not because of our leadership who does not believe in internal democracy, who believes he can get away with anything with speaking any lie, with beating up people," Ms Maliwal said.

She added, "It is really unfortunate...The dream of Delhi has been lost. We have suffered a huge defeat but I blame Arvind Kejriwal for this."

BJP is set to make a comeback in Delhi after nearly three decades, snatching Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP's fortress. Congress does not seem to lead on any seats.

Citing Delhi's poor development, Ms Maliwal took a 'Sheeshmahal' jab at Mr Kejriwal.

"If you see, in Delhi right now, any locality or colony...it is in shambles. There is no governance. The roads are broken, the drainage system is overflowing, there is filth and garbage on roads, water supply is polluted - there is either black water or yellow disgusting water or no water at all. Yamuna is extremely polluted and there's air pollution. While all of this is going on, what does Arvind Kejriwal do? He creates a 'Sheeshmahal'," the AAP MP said.

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According to Ms Maliwal, the former Delhi Chief Minister built a Rs 100 crore house for himself out of government funds. "It has six crore worth of curtains, 50 lakhs of carpets - not just one but many, bar made out of government funds so obviously people are angry," she said.

'Sheeshmahal' is a charge BJP has made against Mr Kejriwal.

"On one end, you say you will never take any security or a government house, and on the other, you indulge in such kind of flashy luxuries using public money," she said.

Referring to the alleged assault on her by Mr Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar, Ms Maliwal said, "On one end you say you want work for women's safety, on the other you ensure a woman parliamentarian is beaten in your house, she's thrown away."

"The 'mamuli gunda' who beat me up - Arvind Kejriwal has left no stone unturned to make sure he remains protected. He has Z+ security from the Punjab government. He's the chief advisor to Bhagwant Mann - what is his qualification? How come a 'mamuli gunda' gets this position?" the AAP MP questioned.

"...So if you go to that extent...people are not foolish. They can see through your lies, through your facade and it's so unfortunate," she added.

On her future with the AAP, Ms Maliwal asserted that she has no plans to quit the party.

"I'm an AAP MP and will continue to do so. A lot of people ask me that because I raise questions on the leadership, why should I not resign. But my question is, why should I resign? I have not done anything wrong. If someone beats me up, obviously I will file a police complaint. If people of Delhi are suffering, and if they calling me, I will obviously visit them and try to help them," she said.