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

Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Swati Maliwal criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) decision to appoint 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.
In a post on X, Maliwal wrote, “Today is a very sad day for Delhi. A woman whose family fought a long battle to save terrorist Afzal Guru from being hanged is being made the Chief Minister of Delhi. His 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”.
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 also shared a mercy letter from Atishi’s mother, Tripta Wahi, to the President to stop Afzal Guru’s hanging.
In the mercy letter, Atishi’s mother, Tripta Wahi, had written, “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”.
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.