In a dramatic turn of events, Kapil Gujjar, who allegedly fired shots in the air in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh in February 2020 to oppose the anti- Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest, joined the BJP on Wednesday at the party’s Ghaziabad office. However, hours later his membership was revoked.
Sanjeev Sharma, district president of the BJP, told The Hindu that he did not have any information about Mr. Gujjar’s past. “He came with supporters to join the party. We didn’t know about his criminal antecedents. As soon as we realised, we cancelled his membership,” said Mr. Sharma, who could be seen draping Mr. Gujjar with a saffron stole in photographs.
In videos of the February 1 incident, which went viral on social media, Mr. Gujjar could be heard saying, “In our country, only Hindus will prevail, none else.” He fired two-three shots in the air before being nabbed by the police. He is out on bail.
After joining the BJP, Mr. Gujjar told reporters that the party was working for “strengthening (the ideology) of Hindutva and that’s why he had joined it”.
When his shooting videos had first emerged, the BJP had said Mr. Gujjar’s family had links with the Aam Aadmi Party .
Also read | Shaheen Bagh shooter not AAP member, says family
AAP on Wednesday said Mr. Gujjar’s induction into the BJP clearly exposed that “the party’s plan was to create a riot in Delhi”.
AAP questions BJP
“Just 72 hours before the election, when the model code of conduct was in place, the then Delhi Police DCP said that Kapil Gujjar had an association with the Aam Aadmi Party. Thereafter, BJP president J.P. Nadda said Kapil Gujjar was a terrorist and AAP was giving shelter to such terrorists. Today, on behalf of AAP, I want to ask the BJP why a terrorist is joining their party,” said AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj.
(With inputs from Nikhil M Babu)
Published - December 30, 2020 07:01 pm IST
