Former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain is escorted into the Karkardooma Court in New Delhi on July 31, 2026.
| Photo Credit: ANI
A war of words broke out between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday (July 31, 2026) following the sentencing of former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and four others to life imprisonment for the murder of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 north-east Delhi riots.
While the BJP hailed the court order for “establishing how AAP-backed miscreants spread riots in north-east Delhi”, the Opposition party hit back, claiming that Hussain was “indirectly working for the BJP”.
Welcoming the order, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said people in Delhi are now demanding answers from AAP.
“Tahir Hussain was arrested on charges of murder, yet even after that, [AAP chief Arvind] Kejriwal and [AAP leader] Manish Sisodia stood in his support! They kept trying relentlessly to save him! Why? Will Mr. Kejriwal tell the people of Delhi? Was it under their patronage that people like Tahir Hussain conspired to incite riots? Today, justice has triumphed. This verdict further strengthens the faith of every citizen of the country in the law and the judiciary,” Ms. Gupta posted on X.
Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra said, “Kejriwal should be ashamed for not only sheltering such criminals within the party but also for repeatedly using his influence to protect them. The true character of the Aam Aadmi Party is now well understood not only by the people of Delhi but also by the people of Punjab.”
Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra said the sentencing was “the beginning of justice”.
‘Hussain a BJP man’
Addressing a press conference, AAP’s State unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said his party had expelled Hussain as soon as an FIR was registered against him in the Ankit Sharma murder case. Mr. Bharadwaj said Hussain had contested the Mustafabad Assembly election last year on an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen ticket as part of a “well-planned strategy by the BJP” against AAP.
“There are dozens of instances where the BJP has embraced individuals involved in the most heinous crimes. In reality, Tahir Hussain was a BJP man. If anyone gained political advantage from the Delhi riots, it was the BJP,” said the former Health Minister.
He accused Mr. Mishra, who was earlier with AAP, of backing Hussain and propping him up as a politician. “Kapil Mishra’s own election office and MLA office were located in Tahir Hussain’s house, where weapons or stones allegedly used in the riots were found stored. It was Kapil Mishra who inducted Tahir Hussain into the party [AAP],” said the senior AAP leader.
Published – August 01, 2026 12:51 am IST
