AAP’s Gopal Italia Slams BJP MLA Over ‘Fake’ AI-Edited Photo Linking Him to CM Attacker

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Gopal Italia on Wednesday hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Harish Khurana, calling him “no better than a petty troll” for sharing an alleged AI-edited photo linking him to Rajesh Sakariya, the man accused of attacking Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

In a video statement, Italia accused the BJP of trying to malign him and AAP out of frustration over his recent by-election victory in Gujarat’s Visavadar. “They cannot digest that a young man from a non-political background, from a new party, defeated them. Out of anger, they are spreading lies against me, my party, and our leader Arvind Kejriwal,” he said.

Italia questioned whether Khurana had considered the legacy of his late father, former Delhi CM Madan Lal Khurana, before “spreading fake news.” He also warned media outlets against amplifying unverified claims, cautioning that he would pursue legal action if such posts continued.

The controversy erupted after Khurana posted a tweet claiming Italia was connected to Sakariya. Italia denied the allegation, saying the image was AI-generated from an old video and sharing the original clip as proof.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police have booked Sakariya under Section 109(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for attempt to murder, describing him as a “serial offender” with multiple past cases in Gujarat.