New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party was on Monday hit by another controversy as its leader Kumar Vishwas was accused by a party volunteer of not dispelling “false rumours” of his having an illicit relationship with her, saying it has ruined her reputation.
The Delhi Commission for Women summoned Vishwas and his wife, asking them to appear before it tomorrow after the volunteer approached it.
The woman claimed that she had also written separate letters to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Police Commissioner apprising them of the same but neither of them have responded.
The woman, who claimed to have campaigned for Vishwas in Amethi in 2014 Lok Sabha election, has alleged that Vishwas took no action towards dispelling the “rumours” while Kejriwal did not take note of her complaint.
Vishwas, a member of AAP’s Political Affairs Committee, and the party, however, said the allegations were false and baseless and it was part of a defamation campaign against the AAP by rival parties.
DCW Chairperson Barkha Singh said, “It is the same volunteer who has been coming to us for quite some time now.He (Vishwas) should come since the complainant is his own party’s volunteer. Her marriage is falling apart because of him she has alleged.”
The ruling AAP in Delhi has been battling internal strife apart from a string of controversies including over the educational qualification of its law minister and a farmer suicide at its rally here.
“The allegation is totally false and baseless. AAP is being targeted. There is no basis for the allegation. Please spare our families,” AAP leader Sanjay Singh said, addressing a press conference.
Viswas, who has in the past too courted controversy over his alleged derogatory remarks against women, accused the media of playing into the hands of the BJP and of being “extortionist”.
“We will not be affected or frightened away by such attempts to malign us with lies. We will fight till our last breath against political corruption,” the AAP leader said.
Vishwas said that the woman, who was an activist of Aam Aadmi Party, registered a police complaint that some persons on social media are spreading lies against her, including a BJP spokesperson, that she has an illicit relation.
“She registered complaint 15 days back, but police has not taken any action yet. She had sent me a mail asking Kumar bhaiya, what should I do now? Thereafter, our AAP’s legal cell asked her to register an FIR in this regard,” said Vishwas.
Both Congress and BJP called the allegations serious and asked Kejriwal to clarify on the issue. “If he is not clarifying that means there is something fishy…. we are with that woman and will support her,” BJP’s Vijender Gupta said. DPCC Chief Ajay Maken said it was a serious complaint and should be looked into.
Vishwas also termed the woman’s allegations as “baseless” and put the onus on Delhi Police which he said did not take any action on the woman’s complaint accusing four persons including a BJP spokesperson of maligning her image. The woman has moved the Commission claiming that “false rumours” of Vishwas having illicit relationship with her were ruining her reputation and that he should come forward to clarify.
AAP leader Singh also advised the media to refrain from targeting the party without evidence and to spare family members of party leaders.
“If there is a premeditated strategy to target AAP then, please don’t be part of it. If there is any evidence, if you have facts, then please run a story. But please don’t run cooked up stories where the fact is something and something else is being run,” said Singh.
“It is my humble request to friends in media. If we are wrong, do run a story, crucify us, we have not problem. But kindly spare our families, our wives, our children get hurt by these stories, please spare them,” Singh added.(PTI)
