New Delhi: BJP candidate for the upcoming Delhi elections Kapil Mishra landed in a controversy after the Election Commission Friday asked Twitter to remove some of his “objectionable” tweets.
Mishra, who is contesting from Model Town, Thursday said in a tweet that Delhi is seeing the rise of “mini-Pakistans”, referring to the protests against anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
He named places like Indralok, Shaheen Bagh, the most prominent site of anti-CAA protests, and Chand Bagh, and said people in these areas were not following the law.
पाकिस्तान की एंट्री शाहीन बाग में हो चुकी हैं
दिल्ली में छोटे छोटे पाकिस्तान बनाये जा रहे हैं
शाहीन बाग, चांद बाग, इंद्रलोक में देश का कानून नहीं माना जा रहा
पाकिस्तानी दंगाइयों का दिल्ली की सड़को पर कब्जा हैं https://t.co/jcq1PgzXb7
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) January 23, 2020
In another post, 39-year-old Mishra said the 8 February Delhi election will be a contest between India and Pakistan.
𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮
𝘃𝘀
𝗣𝗮𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻
8𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆
𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗵𝗶8 फरवरी को दिल्ली की सड़कों पर हिंदुस्तान और पाकिस्तान का मुकाबला होगा
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) January 23, 2020
Taking note of Mishra’s tweets, the Election Commission asked Twitter to remove them. In a letter to Twitter, the top election body said the reference to “mini-Pakistan’s” in the city was “highly objectionable” and “appeals to communal feelings”.
The EC’s notice referred to the Model Code of Conduct and said that Mishra’s comments violated the rule against “aggravating differences or creating mutual hatred or causing tension between different communities”.
Mishra replied to the EC notice in a four-page open letter he posted on Twitter Friday and said his comments have been taken out of context and misrepresented to paint a one-sided picture.
A former minister in the Arvind Kejriwal cabinet, Mishra argued that Shaheen Bagh has become a “national issue” and, therefore, it does not fall within the ambit of the Model Code of Conduct.
He further said the CAA protests have “anti-social elements which were spewing anti-establishment sentiments”.
“Children/minors have been seen in videos engaging in such sloganeering and calling for the assassination of Hon’ble Prime Minister. Religious symbols are being disrespected. Such images are distressing for a common citizen of the country,” he wrote.
माननीय चुनाव आयोग के नोटिस को मेरा जवाब 👇 pic.twitter.com/7eT7YqoUAJ
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) January 24, 2020
Also read: Kapil Mishra is not the first AAP leader to go rogue on the party.
From Aam Aadmi Party to BJP
Mishra, who calls himself a ‘Dilli wala’ and a proud BJP worker, was an activist before he joined politics.
He co-founded an action group called ‘Youth for Justice’ that spearheaded protests across Delhi on various issues such as the Jessica Lal murder case, encroachments on Yamuna floodplains and farmer suicides.
Mishra has also written a book called ‘Common v/s Wealth’ on the Commonwealth Games and how it was a waste of public money.
In the 2015 Delhi elections, Mishra fought as an AAP candidate from Karawal Nagar in Delhi and defeated BJP leader Mohan Singh Bisht, who was a four-time MLA.
Mishra was the Water Resources Minister in Kejriwal’s cabinet. As minister, he had prepared a report about the encroachment on the Yamuna floodplain and also exposed violation of labour laws at Commonwealth Games sites.
In 2017, he was fired as a minister and also removed from the AAP after he accused Kejriwal of accepting a Rs 2-crore bribe and also alleged that the Delhi CM intentionally delayed the probe into the Rs 400-crore tanker scam.
In 2018, Kejriwal was given a clean chit by the CBI and lokayukta in the bribery case.
Mishra joined the BJP in August 2019.
Also read: Modi govt suspends civil servant who complained against Kapil Mishra’s ‘incendiary’ video