Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Sunday claimed that she has been receiving rape and death threats following a 'character assassination' campaign allegedly orchestrated by AAP leaders and volunteers. She further accused YouTuber Dhruv Rathee of further escalating the hate campaign by posting a 'one-sided' video against her.
The AAP MP said it was shameful for "independent journalists" like Dhruv Rathee to act like "other AAP spokespersons" and victim shame her to the extent that she is now "facing extreme abuse and threats".
"As far as the party leadership goes, it is very clear that they are trying to intimidate me into withdrawing my complaint. However, for Dhruv, I tried my best to reach out to him to tell him my version, but he ignored my calls and messages," Swati Maliwal's post on X said.
In his video posted on May 22, Dhruv Rathee - who has over 20 million subscribers on YouTube and 2.2 million followers on X - tried to explain the entire Swati Maliwal assault case.
Sharing snippets of news articles, he mentioned how Maliwal accused Bibhav Kumar of physically assaulting her but CCTV footage that emerged later showed her behaving rudely and using offensive words with the security staff at the Chief Minister's residence. Rathee also spoke about Maliwal limping in the aftermath of the assault case, in contrary to another CCTV footage that showed her exiting the Delhi Chief Minister's house walking without any trouble.
"Who is speaking the truth here? We have both videos available publicly," the YouTuber said in the video.He also called out "BJP-controlled institutions" to take swift action in the case, mentioning the arrest of Bibhav Kumar.
Responding to the video, Swati Maliwal highlighted in her X post certain "facts" that Dhruv Rathee failed to mention in the video.
"1. Party took a U-turn on its stand after accepting the incident has happened, 2. â MLC report that reveals injuries due to the assault, 3. â Selected part of the video was released and then phone of the accused was formatted? 4. â The accused was arrested from the crime scene (CM house). Why was he allowed to enter the place again? For tampering of evidence? 5. How a woman who always stood for the right issues, even went to Manipur alone without security could be bought over by the BJP?" her post on the micro-blogging site read.
Maliwal further stated that the manner in which the AAP and its "entire machinery" and supporters have attempted to "vilify and shame" her "speaks volumes on their stand on women issues".
"I am reporting these rape and death threats to Delhi Police. I hope they take strong action against the perpetrators. In any case, if something happens to me, we know who all instigated it," the AAP Rajya Sabha MP tweeted.
The AAP and the BJP have been at loggerheads over the Swati Maliwal assault case, with the former alleging the saffron side hatched the conspiracy. Several BJP leaders have launched numerous attacks on the AAP in relation to the case.