BJP MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat and Swati Maliwal Speak Out on DCW Issues
New Delhi, India, July 2: Kamaljeet Sehrawat, a Member of Parliament from West Delhi representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has raised concerns about the conditions faced by women working at the Delhi Commission For Women (DCW). According to former DCW chief Swati Maliwal, many of these women have not received their salaries and are victims of severe crimes such as acid attacks.
Sehrawat stated, “For the last 8 to 9 years we have been hearing about DCW. Swati Maliwal wrote a letter to Arvind Kejriwal stating the condition of this wing. As per the points stated by Swati Maliwal, women working there have not received their salaries. Those women are victims of either acid attacks or some horrendous crime of the same sort.”
Sehrawat also commented on the role of women in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), mentioning that Kiran Bedi and Shazia Ilmi were initially involved but faced challenges. She noted that Atishi is the first woman to be part of AAP’s core group.
Swati Maliwal’s Allegations
Earlier in the day, Swati Maliwal, who is now a Rajya Sabha MP, accused the Delhi government led by AAP of trying to shut down the DCW and the 181 women helpline. She claimed that the government has not provided any funds to DCW for the past six months and has reduced its budget by 30%.
Maliwal said, “In 8 years, Delhi Commission for Women listened to 1,70,000 cases. But ever since I resigned from the post of the chairperson, the entire Delhi Government has become adamant about shutting down DCW. Delhi Government has not released even a Rupee as funds for DCW for 6 months. We are also seeing that the Delhi Government has slashed the DCW budget for this year by 30 per cent.”
She also highlighted that the position of DCW chairperson has been vacant for six months, along with two other key positions. Maliwal expressed her concerns in a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, questioning how the government plans to protect women without a functioning Women Commission.
Maliwal further posted on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), “I am writing this letter to bring attention to how the Delhi Government has been systematically dismantling the DCW since my resignation from the position of Chairperson in January 2024. It is deeply regrettable that the systems that I had painstakingly built since 2015, are being destroyed by the Government.”
