Swati Maliwal attacks Atishi, says her family fought to stop Afzal Guru’s hanging

Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Swati Maliwal has criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s decision to pick Atishi as the new Chief Minister of Delhi and claimed that her family had fought a battle to stop convicted terrorist Afzal Guru’s hanging.
Maliwal was responding to Tuesday’s fast-paced developments that saw AAP’s Delhi MLAs meeting in the morning and electing Atishi as their legislative leader. The meeting was necessitated by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s announcement two days ago that he would be stepping down from the post.
Kejriwal was recently released on bail in the Delhi liquor policy case and has vowed not to return to the Chief Minister’s chair until voted back to power.
Following the AAP’s decision to pick Atishi as the next Delhi Chief Minister, Swati Maliwal hit out at the party. “Today is a very sad day for Delhi,” Maliwal wrote on social media before flagging that Atishi’s parents were among several activists and professors who had signed a mercy petition for convicted terrorist Afzal Guru in 2013.
“A woman whose family fought a long battle to save terrorist Afzal Guru from being hanged is being made the Chief Minister of Delhi. Her parents wrote mercy petitions to the Honorable President to save terrorist Afzal Guru. According to them, Afzal Guru was innocent and was framed as part of a political conspiracy,” Maliwal, who’s had a bitter falling out with the Aam Aadmi Party, wrote.
She further alleged that while Atishi may be a “dummy CM,” the issue raises concerns about national security. “This issue is related to the security of the country. May God protect Delhi!” Maliwal added.
Afzal Guru, who was convicted for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack, was executed in 2013.
In her post, Swati Maliwal shared the mercy petition that was signed, among several others, by Atishi’s father Vijay Singh and mother, Tripta Wahi. The petition was addressed to then President Pranab Mukherjee requesting him to stop Afzal Guru’s hanging.
The petition stated, “We, therefore, appeal to you (The President) to not only set aside the punishment given to Mohd. Afzal but also to facilitate a Parliamentary inquiry into the entire episode”.
In an old video, Atishi’s mother can be heard saying, “We are unhappy that Afzal has been made, in our understanding, a scapegoat”.
Atishi had addressed the controversy related to her parents’ stand on Afzal Guru’s hanging in 2019.
“I am not responsible for any political decisions made by my parents. The responsibility and accountability for those actions lie with them, and they are fully capable of expressing their own views. I can speak for myself, and I was not in support of that decision,” Atishi had said in 2019 in an interview with Amar Ujala.
Countering Swati Maliwal’s criticism, AAP MLA Dilip Pandey demanded that she resign from the Rajya Sabha. “Swati Maliwal goes to the Rajya Sabha on AAP’s support, but reads the BJP’s script. She should now try to get a Rajya Sabha ticket from the BJP. If she has even a little shame and morality left, she should resign,” Pandey said.
On Tuesday, Delhi minister Atishi pipped Kailash Gahlot to become the next Chief Minister of Delhi, two days after Arvind Kejriwal said he would step down from the top post. Atishi’s name was proposed by Kejriwal at the meeting of the legislature party, and it was unanimously accepted by the AAP MLAs.
Born to Delhi University professors Vijay Kumar Singh and Tripta Wahi, the 43-year-old started off her political journey with the AAP in 2013. She grabbed attention after she took part in the Jal Satyagraha in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh in 2015.
Apart from being the only woman minister in the Delhi Cabinet, she is also in charge of 14 portfolios, including education, finance, public works department, revenue and services.