Delhi’s lieutenant governor V. K. Saxena waded into the controversy around the alleged assault on AAP MP Swati Maliwal inside the home of her party leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on May 13.

Saxena on Tuesday said in a statement: “Yesterday, she (Maliwal) 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 added: “It is most disturbing to note that the alleged scene of crime was the drawing room of the Chief Minister, even while he was present in the house, and the same was carried out by his closest aide on a lady who was alone. Her fellow member of Rajya Sabha confirmed her narrative in full media glare, and assured that the CM would take firm action against the culprit — his aide. Subsequently, a total U-turn was done in the matter, apparently at the behest of the highest functionary.”

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

AAP Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj responded on X, saying: “Perhaps you have forgotten, the wrestler daughters who won medals for the country were sitting on a dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi…. They wanted to file an FIR that BJP MP Brij Bhushan had repeatedly sexually exploited them.

“Then the Delhi Police under you did not even register an FIR…. The FIR was also registered on the orders of the Supreme Court. But despite the case under Section 354, the BJP MP was not arrested even for a day. Delhi Police is under you, tell me why he was not arrested?”

Bharadwaj added: “Then were you not worried about the international image of Delhi and India? The police under your command brutally beat these daughters at midnight…. The same night Swati Maliwal was also dragged on the road by the police. Tell me what action did you take?”