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Swati Maliwal slammed Atishi for celebrating her win despite AAP’s overall election loss. She also demanded a strict investigation into the CAG report.
Swati Maliwal speaks to reporters (Video screengrab/PTI)
Hours after Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi held a roadshow in Kalkaji, celebrating her victory over BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri by a margin of 3,521 votes, Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Sunday said the former Delhi Chief Minister should be ashamed of herself for celebrating her win while her party lost the election.
“Atishi should be ashamed. Her party has suffered a huge defeat, all their main leaders have lost. Yet, she did a roadshow to celebrate her win and even danced during it. What is she celebrating? Her party’s loss?” Swati Maliwal questioned while talking to reporters.
She also said that she had fought the battle alone. She stated that the past year had been the most difficult year of her life.
“The last year has been the most difficult year of my life. In this entire year, only God has helped us. We have fought this battle alone, and I believe that no matter how big the evil is, or how powerful it is, it ultimately has to bow down to the truth,” Maliwal told media persons.
“Today, it is because of God’s blessings that we are alive and able to fight for the truth. The people in front of us have a lot of power, money, and authority, but I have fought alone. God is with me and will remain with me in the future too. Evil does not have enough power to make the truth bow down,” she said.
#WATCH | Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal says, “The last one year has been the most difficult year of my life. In this whole year, only and only God has helped us. We have fought this battle alone and I believe that no matter how big the evil is, how powerful it is, it… https://t.co/6CXTq9A3MV pic.twitter.com/Arj8IrYMmX— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2025
Maliwal’s remarks appeared to be a veiled reference to the assault case in which she alleged that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar, had ‘assaulted’ her at the then Chief Minister’s residence.
Also commenting on the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report, she said, “The people who came to power to bring the Jan Lokpal did not even implement the existing precedents.”
“The CAG report should be tabled immediately in the Assembly and undergo a strict investigation,” Maliwal added.
#WATCH | Delhi | On AAP winning candidate from Kalkaji Vidhan Sabha and outgoing CM Atishi’s roadshow, Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal says, “Atishi should be ashamed. Her party has suffered a huge defeat… All their main leaders have lost. Yet, she did a roadshow to celebrate her… pic.twitter.com/wSKKt2oU1s— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2025
Notably, the CAG report revealed a significant revenue loss of Rs 2,026 crore due to irregularities in the Delhi government’s excise policy. The report’s findings stated that there were deviations from the objectives of the policy, a lack of transparency in pricing, and violations in issuing licenses that were not penalised.
Of the losses amounting to Rs 2,026 crore to the state exchequer, Rs 890 crore resulted from the government’s failure to re-tender the surrendered licenses before the policy period concluded, according to the report.
Additionally, the exemptions granted to the zonal licenses led to a loss of Rs 941 crore.
Before speaking to the reporters, Swati Maliwal offered prayers at the Hanuman Temple at Delhi’s Connaught Place.
SWATI MALIWAL SLAMS ATISHI, CALLS HER CELEBRATION ‘SHAMELESS’
Even on Saturday, Maliwal shared a video of Atishi dancing and celebrating with supporters following her victory in the Kalkaji assembly seat, terming it a “shameless display” in light of AAP’s crushing defeat in the elections.
“What kind of shameless display is this? The party lost, all the big leaders lost, and Atishi Marlena is celebrating like this?” posted Swati Maliwal on X.
After the results on Saturday, Maliwal attacked the AAP for losing the Delhi assembly elections, stating that God “punishes” those who commit crimes against women.
BJP’s COMEBACK IN DELHI
The BJP on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper-localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘AAP-da‘ (disaster) blitzkrieg.
The BJP won 48 of the 70 seats at stake and the AAP was way behind with 22, according to the Election Commission website. The elections were largely seen as a bipolar contest between the AAP, which made a determined bid for a fourth term, and the BJP. While the AAP had 62 members in the outgoing house, the saffron party had just eight legislators.
The Congress, which had ruled for 15 consecutive years under Sheila Dikshit from 1998, came a cropper in the Assembly elections failing to get even a single seat for the third straight time.
Its candidates suffered crushing defeats with a majority of them even losing their deposits With Delhi now in its kitty after a battle of prestige given its symbolic importance as the country’s capital, the BJP has extended its footprint, the victories helping it put behind some of the reverses of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections where it bagged 240 seats, short of the 272 majority mark.
