The Election Commission of India today asked Twitter to remove tweets, which it perceives as communal, by BJP’s Kapil Mishra, a former AAP legislator, ahead of next month’s Delhi assembly elections.
In a series of tweets over the last two days, Mishra had lashed out at the protests in the national capital’s Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
In his tweet yesterday, Mishra had referred to Shaheen Bagh protests as an entry point for Pakistan. “Pakistan is entering through Shaheen Bagh and mini-Pakistans are being created in Delhi…Shaheen Bagh, Chand Bagh, Inderlok. The law is not followed here and Pakistani rioters are occupying the roads,” he had tweeted in Hindi.
Hundreds of women have been camping on the road for about 40 days now. The police have closed the Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj stretch causing inconvenience to commuters.
Earlier, Kapil Mishra, who had joined the BJP last August, received a notice from the Election Commission for another tweet that likened Delhi Polls to ‘India vs Pakistan’ contest.
“India vs Pakistan, 8 February, Delhi. India and Pakistan will compete on the streets of Delhi,” Kapil Mishra, a former minister in Arvind Kejriwal’s Delhi cabinet had tweeted.
“I received a notice from Election Commission last night, I’ll give my reply today. I don’t think I said anything wrong. Speaking truth is not a crime in this country. I spoke the truth. I stand by my statement,” Mishra told a news agency.
Calling Shaheen Bagh a political movement after it got support from Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, he said, “Roads are encroached upon in Shaheen Bagh, people aren’t being allowed to go to schools, offices, hospitals, inciting slogans are being raised. The shamelessness with which Manish Sisodia said he stands with Shaheen Bagh means that this is a political movement.”
Mishra, who used to be a close aide of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had a bitter parting with both AAP and Kejriwal after he publicly accused the Delhi CM of corruption.
Last week, the BJP named him in its list of candidates and fielded him against his former colleague and two-time AAP MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi.
Voting for Delhi Assembly election 2020 will be held in a single phase on February 8 and the results will be declared on February 11. In 2015 elections, the AAP had won 67 of the 70 seats, while the BJP could manage only three seats.