This is an archive article published on January 30, 2025
Tahir Hussain interview: Hindutva politics, RSS ideology… AAP following similar patterns like BJP
The biggest problem with AAP is that they are only banking on Kejriwal's name. For the last 10 years, Kejriwal has not even shown his face to us. The people won't fall for their trap this time. There is so much work to be done here.
4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jan 30, 2025 09:45 AM IST
The Supreme Court Monday granted custody parole to Mohd Tahir Hussain, an undertrial prisoner in the 2020 Delhi riots case. (Express Photo by Nirbhay Thakur)
Out on a six-day custody parole granted by the Supreme Court, former AAP councillor and 2020 Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain on Wednesday launched his campaign in Mustafabad, from where he is contesting as an AIMIM candidate. He tells The Indian Express about his campaign and how AAP ignored him after he was jailed.
Are you facing any issue while campaigning? Paucity of time and funds an issue?
I reached here (Mustafabad) around 9.30 am. Immediately, I started door-to-door campaign… I have only come out for three days (from jail) but it is not as if I have only three days to campaign. My family and supporters have been going to every household for the last six months – even when I wasn’t named the AIMIM candidate. In fact, our (his and his wife’s) posters (showing them as) candidates were the first ones to go public. I had then thought that maybe AAP will show sympathy and give my wife a ticket like they have done with (MLA) Naresh Balyan, who has an ongoing MCOCA case against him (His wife Pooja Balyan is contesting as AAP candidate from Vikaspuri)… But this did not happen. In fact, AAP totally ignored me.
I am banking on 30 years of hard work. I have grown up here, got married and had children in Mustafabad. I love my people and rule their hearts… I assure you we have not faced any problem while campaigning.
What are the issues you are fighting for?
I thought that since this constituency had an AAP MLA, some work would be done. But that didn’t happen. Schools, hospitals, and roads were not built. Even drainage and cleanliness are big issues. No work has been done. Even AAP had to change its candidate this time (AAP had replaced sitting MLA Haji Yunus with Adil Ahmad Khan).
The biggest problem with AAP is that they are only banking on Kejriwal’s name. For the last 10 years, Kejriwal has not even shown his face to us. The people won’t fall for their trap this time. There is so much work to be done here.
Do you find any similarity between AAP and BJP in terms of ideology and principles?
The AAP was born out of a movement. Everyone was on the streets during the Anna (Hazare) andolan because they were fed up of the corruption of the UPA government. The BJP gained the most from this movement. People like Yogender Yadav and Prashant Bhushan joined the AAP… they were hardworking and honest. However, they were thrown out because they would talk about how the AAP was becoming undemocratic. One person should have one post – this was how they thought democracy could be maintained. I agree with them. Is this happening in the AAP today? It is a party where multiple people are getting multiple posts.
Second, Delhi’s Muslims thought that AAP has been able to stop BJP. This was part of the reason why AAP won so many seats in 2015 and 2020 polls. But what has happened now that he (Kejriwal) is remembering pujaris and granthis all of a sudden. What happened to Kejriwal’s mohabbat and bhaichaara? The AAP has started following similar patterns like the BJP. They also follow Hindutva politics… they have started following the ideology of RSS. It is for the people to see.
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Why AIMIM? Why not pick a party that has a strong base in Delhi?
I had announced six months ago that I will contest from Mustafabad. All the parties knew this… they all announced their candidates just a few days ago. None of them reached out to me. AAP and Congress could have… but they were scared that BJP will make this a poll issue. These so called secular parties always use Muslims for votes but when it comes to fighting for their issues, they all back out.
I am grateful to (AIMIM chief Asaduddin) Owaisi that he gave me a chance. I thank him from the heart. He is a seasoned politician… Parties that I spent time with, I shared meals with and campaigned for, abandoned me. But an unknown person showed faith in me. He hugged me and fielded me on party symbol.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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