New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has come out strongly in defence of Arvind Kejriwal's decision to appoint party leader Naveen Jaihind's wife Swati Maliwal as chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).
Addressing a press conference, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said, “Swati Maliwal has fought for the rights of farmers and RTI, she's not AAP member, she has her own contribution towards society...she has been made DCW chief on behalf of her capabilities.”
Singh said that just because she is married to Naveen Jaihind does not mean that she has no talent.
“If people from the BJP and Congress want to suggest something on these lines then it is an insult to a woman,” he said.
On Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay's allegation that Kejiriwal has indulged in nepotism by appointing Maliwal, Sanjay Singh said, “Satish Upadhyay should read our party's rules, we have a rule that two persons from the same party won't get MLA ticket.”
“BJP doesn't know about Swati Maliwal's social contribution, she worked with 'Parivartan', participated in India against corruption,” Singh added to stress his point.
Meanwhile, outgoing DCW chief Abha Singh has also come out against Maliwal's appointment.
“How has she contributed for women’s rights? She is not at all a name in women rights activism. Merit and merit alone should be taken into consideration while appointing someone for such a post,” said Singh.
“Few days back in the Delhi dialogue event, he had named his journalist friend Ashish Khetan as the chairman. It seems that Kejriwal is not appointing people based on merit for all the crucial posts but friendship,” she added.
Senior advocate and former AAP member Prashant Bhushan has also criticised the Aam Aadmi Party for naming Swati Maliwal as the next DCW chief, opining that 'politically neutral' people should be appointed to DCW chief's post.
"Politically neutral people should be appointed on such posts. The AAP also misusing these posts like others and has completely gone off the path of alternative politics, which it had set out to take," Bhushan said.
