New Delhi: Presence of 1984 riots-accused Jagdish Tytler at Sheila Dikshit’s swearing-in as Delhi Congress chief sparked a fresh controversy on Wednesday. The issue was quickly seized upon the BJP which alleged that that the Congress party was again “rubbing salt into the wounds of Sikhs".

Her appointment as Delhi Congress chief comes days after Ajay Maken resigned from the post citing poor health. After Congress's Ajay Maken resigned as the Delhi party chief, former Chief Minister Sheila Dixit was said to be the front-runner for the post of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president.

The enthused workers greeted the former Delhi chief minister as she reached the office at DDU Marg with slogans and drum beats. Chants like "Sheila Dikshit Ayi Hai, Badlaw Ki Andhi Layi Hai" "(Sheila Dikshit has come with a storm of change) were heard.

Speaking to media, Dikshit said,''Politics is full of challenges, we will strategise accordingly. BJP and AAP both are a challenge; we will meet the challenges together. There is nothing on alliance with AAP yet.


With Dikshit at the helm of affairs, the party is looking to revive its fortunes in the national capital after a series of poll debacles starting with losing of power in 2013.

Earlier, Dikshit served as the chief minister from 1998 to 2013 before the Congress was crushed in the 2013 assembly polls, only securing eight seats in the 70-member assembly. She herself lost to Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal by over 20,000 votes.

Controversy over Tytler's presence 

"Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi, Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, Kamal Nath are their right hand men. Tytler had himself said he had driven Rajiv Gandhi in a car to show Sikhs are being killed. What his family did earlier, Rahul ji is just continuing with that tradition. It clearly shows that they have no respect for sentiments of Sikhs, "said Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, an ally of the ruling BJP.


"The Congress wants to send a message to the witnesses that the party high command supports Tytler and nobody should even try to testify against him," Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged."Since the conviction of Sajjan Kumar, the party is afraid... that the leaders whom it kept safe are now being jailed. By such acts, it is also sending a message to the judiciary and police that nobody should initiate action against them," Singh alleged.

In his defence, Tytler said, "why is my name cropping up when there is no FIR or a case against me? Just because somebody says something, the media keeps questioning me."

(With additional information from PTI)