New Delhi [India], July 14 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain had been expelled from the party “a long, long time back”, responding to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) criticism after a Delhi court convicted Hussain and four others in the 2020 North-East Delhi riots-related murder case of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma.
Responding to a post on X by BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya, Kejriwal said Hussain was no longer associated with the AAP and took a swipe at the BJP.
“We expelled him from AAP a long, long time back. Didn’t he join one of the Chanda Chor party’s sister organisations?” Kejriwal said in a post on X.
https://x.com/ArvindKejriwal/status/2076933454231400559
Earlier, BJP leader Amit Malviya said that a Delhi court had convicted former AAP leader Tahir Hussain and four others in connection with the murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Delhi riots.
“Delhi riots 2020: A Delhi court convicted Arvind Kejriwal’s close associate and former AAP leader Tahir Hussain along with four others in connection with the murder case of IB officer Ankit Sharma,” Malviya said in a post on X.
Earlier in the day, BJP National Spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia launched a scathing attack on Kejriwal, labelling him the “biggest culprit” alongside Tahir Hussain following the trial court’s verdict convicting the former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain for the brutal murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Delhi riots.
Addressing a press conference, Bhatia welcomed the trial court’s verdict and alleged that Kejriwal provided “political protection” to Hussain and used him as a tool to instigate communal violence.
“The main accused in this case was Tahir Hussain. At the time of this heinous crime, he was an elected councillor for the Aam Aadmi Party and a very close associate–the right hand–of Arvind Kejriwal. Today, Tahir Hussain has been convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, Section 365 for kidnapping, and Section 153A for promoting enmity between different groups. This case has been proven, and he has been punished. Along with him, four others, Javed, Anas, Nazim, and Qasim, have also been punished… The biggest culprit alongside Tahir Hussain is Arvind Kejriwal, at whose behest this occurred and who engaged in a cover-up. He was the Chief Minister, but not a single word was said for Ankit Sharma or the Indian citizens killed in the Delhi riots. About 60 people were killed, and not once did he speak for them,” Bhatia alleged.
Citing the court’s observations, Bhatia pointed out that the murder was a result of a deep-seated conspiracy to target a specific community.
“I am reading a line from the court’s statement: ‘He (Hussain) instigated the mob when Ankit came forward towards this mob.’ When Ankit Sharma, performing his duty, came before the mob, Tahir Hussain was the goon who was Arvind Kejriwal’s right hand in the Aam Aadmi Party. He gave inflammatory speeches and carried out this entire incident. The court further states, ‘When the accused persons were acting in pursuance to a conspiracy and common object to kill Hindus, it covered the killing of Ankit as well for the reasons that Ankit was killed because he was a Hindu’,” he said.
Bhatia further questioned Kejriwal’s silence following the incident in 2020, accusing him of prioritising vote-bank politics over the life of a public servant.
“They stand with the accused because they see the accused’s religion as their vote bank. So, Arvind Kejriwal, why did you do this? Most importantly, why are Tahir Hussain’s strings still tied to Arvind Kejriwal today? Amanatullah Khan’s statement says that the punishment given by our country’s court is unfortunate. Amanatullah Khan, this is unfortunate! Amanatullah Khan’s statement today–is this not vote bank politics? This is the character, the DNA of the ‘Paapi AAP’,” Bhatia asserted.
Ankit Sharma was killed during the North-East Delhi riots in February 2020, and his body was later recovered from a drain. (ANI)
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