Without taking names, popular YouTuber Dhruv Rathee wrote on social media that "attempts had been made to defame him" amid allegations by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal against him that she had receiving rape and death threats after the former posted a video over the alleged assault on her by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar.
Taking to social media platform X, Dhruv Rathee wrote that attempts had been made to defame him and that “perpetrators are pretending to be victims".
“Fake allegations against me, daily death threats, dehumanizing insults, coordinated campaigns to defame me … I’m used to it by now,” Dhruv Rathee said.
The video in question was posted by Dhruv Rathee on Instagram. It was captioned - 'AAP vs Swati Maliwal Controversy Explained in 2 mins'.
“The irony is that perpetrators are pretending to be victims. Everyone knows who is behind all this. They want to silence me. But that’s not gonna happen. If you silence 1 Dhruv Rathee, 1000 new ones will rise up. Jai Hind,” the YouTuber added.
Swati Maliwal had alleged that there is a “character assassination” campaign, orchestrated by AAP and its volunteers, running against her, adding that the situation escalated after Dhruv Rathee posted a “one-sided video” against her.
Posting screenshots of abusive messages received on her social media, Swati Maliwal wrote on X, “After the leaders and volunteers of my party, i.e., AAP orchestrated a campaign of character assassination, victim shaming, and fanning of emotions against me, I have been getting rape and death threats. This got further exacerbated when YouTuber @Dhruv_Rathee posted a one-sided video against me.”
Dhruv Rathee is mainly known for his political videos, which mainly contain fact-checking and explanatory content.
She said the AAP was trying to intimidate her into dropping her complaint against Bibhav Kumar. Maliwal further said that she tried to reach out to Dhruv Rathee but he ignored her calls and messages.
“It is shameful that people like him, who claim to be independent journalists could act like other AAP spokespersons and victim shame me to the extent that I am now facing extreme abuses and threats,” Maliwal said.
Swati Maliwal has alleged that Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar assaulted her on May 13 when she had gone to the chief minister's residence to meet him. AAP has rubbished her allegations and claimed that Maliwal is acting at the behest of the BJP to frame Kejriwal.
Bibhav Kumar was arrested on Saturday, May 18, and produced in a court, which remanded him in five-day police custody. The Delhi Police has booked Kumar for molestation and attempted culpable homicide after Maliwal's complaint.
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