On Saturday, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal came out with a troubling confession detailing the sexual and physical abuse she suffered as a child from her father.
"I was sexually assaulted by my father when I was a child. I was very small at that time. My father used to beat me up and I used to hide under the bed to save myself," she said after the DCW International Women's Day Awards ceremony in New Delhi.
"While hiding under the bed, I used to think how I will teach a lesson to such men who abuse women and children, and how I can help women get their rights," she said.
Narrating her ordeal, Maliwal said her father would grab her by her braid and slam her against the wall, leading to severe bleeding. "This happened till I was in Class 4," she recalled.
However, a day later, Congress leader Radhika Khera dug up an old tweet of Maliwal in which she expressed pride in being brought up by an Army man.
"I am the daughter of an Army man. I have been brought up in the Army. I have been taught to work for my country to sacrifice my life for it. I am not afraid of anything," her tweet, translated from Hindi, read.
Sharing a screenshot of Maliwal's old tweet, the Congress leader sought to know if the latter's claims of sexual abuse perpetrated by her father has anything to do with the upcoming assembly polls in Haryana.
"People of Delhi fear what kind of hypocrites they have reposed their faith in. Those ruling Delhi are so intoxicated by power that keep saying anything. Elections are nearing in Haryana, is that why Swati and her husband have now accused their military father? Expose AAP one by one!," Khera's tweet read.
BJP leader Priti Gandhi weighed in, saying "will the real Swati Maliwal please stand up."
"In 2016, Swati Maliwal was a proud daughter of an Armyman... and in 2023, her father was a sexual assaulter. Will the real Swati Maliwal please stand up?!?!," Gandhi tweeted.
However, a few users defended the DCW chief, asking the leaders not to politicise the issue.
"This is very sensitive matter. Please, don't involve politics in this. May be she got courage from Khushbhu Sundar," a user said.
Recently, actor and National Commission for Women (NCW) member Khushbu Sundar said she was sexually abused by her father at the age of 8.
Maliwal had said that her father was an alcoholic and when heavily drunk, he used to harass her.
"You should actually be ashamed while making this comment for political reasons against another female.. Instead of supporting a female, you are making it political," said another user, in response to the tweet of Gandhi.