AAP-Centre rift widens, ACB ‘raids’ DCW office

Anti-corruption branch officials conduct a raid at the office of the Delhi Commission for Women in New Delhi on Thursday. (Photo: PTI)

In a new confrontation between the Centre and the AAP government, the anti-corruption branch on Thursday carried out searches at the office of the Delhi Commission for Women in connection with complaints filed by former chief secretary Omesh Sehgal and former head of the DCW Barkha Shukla Singh.

This led strong reaction from Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the raid, saying, “he has done a very bad thing.” In a tweet in Hindi, Mr Kejriwal said: “Modiji did not spare even the DCW which is doing such commendable work. Modiji has done a very bad thing.”

Addressing a press conference, DCW chief Swati Maliwal said the raid by the ACB, which is headed by lieutenant-governor’s appointee M.K. Meena, may be an attempt at coercion, but such actions cannot silence her and that she was ready for the “ultimate sacrifice.”

Officials of the anti-graft body, however, claimed that they had intimated the DCW that they will be coming to collect certain documents pertaining to the two complaints, one alleging nepotism and favouritism by Ms Maliwal in appointing employees to the body and the other about “misuse” of her official position.

Earlier, the ACB officials showed up at the DCW office around 10.30 am. Adopting the Gandhian way of protest, the staff of the panel tied rakhis to the ACB officials during the search. “I was not questio-ned by the ACB officials, but other members of the commission were. During her tenure, Barkha Singh handled just one case in nine years. We have been working on pending cases, that’s why we are being questioned,” Ms Maliwal said.

In her complaint, Ms Singh had claimed that several AAP supporters were given plum posts in the women’s panel, an allegation strongly denied by Ms Maliwal, who attributed the increased staff strength to the “increase” in the amount of work being handled by the DCW since she took over in July last year.

“The commission had 42 members earlier, but now the strength has increased to more than 70 because the work has increased. Appointments have been made because of this. All the due procedures have been followed in the appointment of panel members,” she said.