After pictures of Shaheen Bagh gunman Kapil Gujjar joining the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the presence of party MP Sanjay Singh surfaced on Tuesday, the BJP accused its rival in Delhi of "instigating and misusing" the youth.
Kapil had fired two aerial shots near Shaheen Bagh protest site on February 1 as he was apparently angry over the road blockade.
"It is not a casual photo. He (Kapil Gujjar) was joining Aam Aadmi Party and (Rajya Sabha MP)Sanjay Singh welcomed him. This shows how AAP instigates the youth and misuses them. Thus AAP stands exposed before the people of Delhi," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"They welcome youth into their party by garlanding them and then make them fire bullets. It has now become clear through various sources that the youth who opened fire at Shaheen Bagh was an AAP member," he added.
Slamming the AAP further, Javadekar said, "They openly supported the protests at Shaheen Bagh and other places because they want to increase tension (in Delhi). Their MLA Amanatullah Khan had recently given a speech in Shaheen Bagh also. Now Sanjay Singh says what if a photo has surfaced."
AAP leader Sanjay Singh earlier today had alleged that it was a "conspiracy" and "another example of BJP's dirty politics".
"Amit Shah is the Home Minister of the country right now. Before the elections, many more photos and conspiracies will emerge. There are just three to four days left for the elections. BJP will do as much dirty politics as it can. What does having a picture with someone mean?" Singh told here.
Earlier today, the photos recovered from Kapil's phone show him and his father Gaje Singh with AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Atishi. The photo is apparently from the last year when the father-son duo joined the party.
Confirming that the photos were recovered from Kapil's phone, DCP Crime Branch, Rajesh Deo said today, "We recovered the pictures from his phone during the course of the investigation. Kapil has confessed that he and his father joined AAP somewhere between January-February 2019."
( With inputs from ANI )