After Najeeb Jung clears appointment, Swati Maliwal takes charge as DCW chief

New Delhi: Swati Maliwal took charge on Tuesday as the Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), along with three other members, a day after their appointments were approved by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.

Maliwal and the entire DCW staff paid homage to former President A P J Abdul Kalam who passed away last night.

Sitting on her chair next to a sketched photograph of Kalam, Maliwal said, "Kalam ji is no more which is a very huge loss to the country. Unfortunately, I never had a chance of meeting him but he has always been my inspiration."

"Kalam ji never wanted a national holiday after his death, infact he wanted people who love him to work extra and so, we today will be in office till late and continue with our work," she said.

Maliwal further said her aim is to strengthen the DCW, but at the moment she wants to utilize the powers, which are already with the commission.

"None of the mandate of DCW were followed during the previous regime (when Barkha Singh Shukla was the chairperson). We have the mandate to visit places like protection homes, GB Road and Tihar Jail etc and give recommendations for the betterment of condition of women.

"Very few visits were undertaken in the past and there has been no study on the lacunas of DCW. So in next three months, we will work within the powers the Commission already has," she said.

30-year-old Maliwal had taken charge as the commission's chief on July 20 but her appointment was struck down by the LG.

Jung yesterday gave consent to the appointment of Maliwal and three other members, handpicked by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, after AAP government sent him a fresh note heeding to his directive to follow the laid down process.

Maliwal is the wife of Aam Aadmi Party leader Navin Jaihind and has been an advisor to Kejriwal on public grievances and handles his Janta Samwad. She has been associated with the AAP chief since India Against Corruption (IAC) days.