Tahir Hussain case: BJP demands AAP clarify ties with ex-councillor

A day after ex-AAP councillor Tahir Hussain was sentenced to life for murdering IB officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Delhi riots, the BJP slammed AAP, demanding it clarify its ties with Hussain and calling it an 'Anarchy Promotion Party'.

A day after a Delhi court sentenced former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the February 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the party should "clarify their relationship with the Tahir Hussain and others like him".

BJP Leaders Hit Out at AAP

Hitting out at the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, BJP leader Gaurav Vallabh said that the people of Delhi have not forgotten the violence that gripped the city. "No citizen of Delhi has forgotten how the AAP spread anarchy across the entire city at that time. How massive stones were thrown at police personnel from rooftops, and that too with full preparation. The AAP, which roams around the world, should answer why their name shouldn't become 'Anarchy Promotion Party'," Vallabh said.

Further targeting the former Delhi Chief Minister, Vallabh added, "Arvind Kejriwal, who demands resignations from everyone, himself didn't wanted to leave his 'Sheeshmahal' (when he was CM) while staying in jail, so he didn't resign... In the pages of history, just one line should be written: 'There was once an Aam Aadmi Party, which indulged in rampant corruption.'"

BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh called the court's verdict an important step towards justice and questioned the ties between the AAP leadership and the convicts. "Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP should clarify their relationship with Tahir Hussain and others like him," Chugh said a day earlier. He further stated, "This decision of the court is an important step towards justice and a clear message to all political parties that protecting those accused of violence for the sake of vote-bank politics and appeasement ultimately harms democracy and society."

BJP MLA Shikha Roy also said the verdict brings closure to the families who suffered during the 2020 riots. "Today, justice has been served to the victims of the Delhi riots, those whose homes and families were devastated. Ankit has received justice, and the perpetrator has been brought to account," Roy said. "Whenever BJP workers alleged that AAP's Tahir Hussain and his associates were involved, it was dismissed as mere politics. If we look at the AAP's history, it appears they have merely assembled a coterie of criminals... Then there is Tahir Hussain, who not only planned and incited the Delhi riots but also caused the destruction of countless homes," she added.

Court Sentences Tahir Hussain to Life Imprisonment

On July 31, a Delhi court sentenced former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four co-accused--Nazim, Qasim, Javed, and Anas--to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the February 2020 Northeast Delhi riots. Delivering the order, Delhi's Karkardooma Court noted that while the crime was heinous, the threshold of the convicts being "beyond reformation" required for the death penalty was not established. It further highlighted that the conviction relied on vicarious liability under Section 149 (unlawful assembly). (ANI)

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