NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Wednesday wrote to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal, urging him to appoint an MLA from the Dalit community as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi assembly. She said that this move would be a step towards fulfilling AAP’s commitment to social justice.
Maliwal, in her letter, reminded Kejriwal of his 2022 Punjab election promise to appoint a Dalit deputy chief minister, a pledge that remains unfulfilled. “Three years ago, Kejriwal had promised in Punjab that he will make a Dalit deputy chief minister but that promise has not been fulfilled till date. I hope this time he will pay true tribute to respected Babasaheb Ambedkar by making a Dalit MLA from Delhi the LoP,” Maliwal posted on X while sharing a screenshot of her letter.
She further stated that appointing a Dalit MLA to the position would be more than just a political decision. “Appointing a Dalit MLA as the LoP is not just a political decision, but a strong step towards adhering to our core values,” she wrote in her letter.
Maliwal’s appeal comes as AAP grapples with a significant electoral setback. The party, which governed Delhi for a decade, suffered a heavy defeat in the recent assembly elections, securing only 22 seats. Several senior leaders, including Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, and Saurabh Bharadwaj, lost in their respective constituencies, paving the way for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to return to power in the capital.