In a heated exchange within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), party leader Dilip Pandey on Tuesday called for the resignation of Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal after she made controversial remarks about AAP leader Atishi, who is set to become the next Chief Minister of Delhi. Pandey accused Maliwal of following a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) agenda and suggested that she seek a Rajya Sabha ticket from the BJP instead.
Pandey’s attack came after Maliwal referred to Atishi as a “dummy CM” and shared allegations that Atishi’s parents had written mercy petitions to spare 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru from execution. In response, Pandey stated, “Swati Maliwal takes a Rajya Sabha ticket from AAP but follows BJP’s script. If she has any shame, she should resign from the Rajya Sabha and seek a ticket from the BJP.”
Maliwal had earlier posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Today is a very sad day for Delhi. A woman is being made Chief Minister whose family fought a long battle to save terrorist Afzal Guru from hanging. Her parents wrote mercy petitions to save him. May God protect Delhi.”
The controversy arose on the same day that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal proposed Atishi’s name as his successor during a meeting with party MLAs. Following the meeting, Atishi was unanimously elected as the leader of the Delhi AAP Legislative Party.
Expressing her gratitude after being elected, Atishi said, “I would like to thank Arvind Kejriwal, the popular CM of Delhi and my mentor, for trusting me with such a huge responsibility. Only in AAP can a first-time politician become the Chief Minister of a state.” She added, “On behalf of all AAP MLAs and the people of Delhi, I want to say that there is only one Chief Minister of Delhi, and that is Arvind Kejriwal.”
Kejriwal, who is stepping down as Chief Minister, submitted his resignation to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Tuesday. His resignation follows his release on bail from Tihar jail on September 13 in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy scam case.
The clash between Maliwal and AAP has been ongoing, with Maliwal accusing Kejriwal’s former aide Bibhav Kumar of assault, leading to a rift between her and the party. Despite these tensions, Maliwal remains a member of AAP, and the party has not taken action against her.