BJP leader Kapil Mishra
The Election Commission on Saturday imposed a 48-hour campaigning ban on BJP candidate from Delhi's Model Town constituency Kapil Mishra following his controversial tweets, poll panel officials said. The ban order, signed by the Chief Election Commissioner and two fellow Election Commissioners, would come into force from 5 PM on Saturday (today).
Haven't violated any law, says Kapil Mishra
Responding after an FIR was registered against him over his 'India vs Pak contest on February 8 tweet, Kapil Mishra said, "Congress and AAP are losing polls on ground so they want to fight it in a police station, court and on paper. I haven't violated any law and have spoken the truth."
Kapil Mishra tweet screengrab
EC asks Twitter to remove Mishra's controversial tweet
While Twitter had taken down one of his controversial tweets on Friday following directions of the EC, an FIR was lodged against him under section 125 of the Representation of the People Act dealing with creating enmity among classes.
The Election Commission on Friday asked Twitter to remove the controversial by Kapil Mishra in which he likened the election in the city to an India versus Pakistan contest. The election body action came after the office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer wrote to the EC to remove the tweet posted by Mishra on Thursday, EC officials said.
The Delhi CEO Office has also issued a show-cause notice to Mishra, who has been fielded by the BJP from the Model Town constituency, they said.
"We took cognisance of the tweet and wrote to EC last night seeking its removal. The EC then asked Twitter to remove his tweet. The tweet is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct and the Representation of the People Act, so we have taken action," Delhi CEO Ranbir Singh said.
"We have also issued a show-cause notice to Kapil Mishra," he said.
In the tweet on Thursday, Mishra, a former minister in the Arvind Kejriwal cabinet, said the February 8 election will be a contest between India and Pakistan in Delhi.
In its criticism of opposition parties over their protest against the citizenship law, the BJP has been accusing them of speaking "Pakistan's language".
Authorities at the Delhi CEO Office had earlier said that social media posts are being constantly monitored to check for any provocative or inflammatory posts or tweets being made by users, related to the polls.
The election will be a triangular fight involving the Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress.
Mishra lashes out at Shaheen Bagh protesters
Polling will be held on February 8 and the results declared on February 11. In a series of tweets in Hindi on Thursday, Mishra had also lashed out at anti-CAA protesters in Shaheen Bagh and other places in the city.
"India vs Pakistan 8th February Delhi. There will a contest on Delhi Roads between India and Pakistan on February 8." "Pakistan has already entered Shaheen Bagh and small pockets of Pakistan are being created in Delhi," he had tweeted.
In another post, Mishra claimed that the BJP will win the February 8 polls and Kejriwal will resign from his post when votes are counted.
The former AAP leader was removed as minister by Kejriwal in 2017. Last year, he was also disqualified as AAP MLA under the anti-defection law.
Mishra faces AAP MLA Akhileshpati Tripathi in the elections.
Nominations of nearly 700 candidates for the Delhi elections were found to be valid by poll authorities after scrutiny, officials said on Thursday. According to the final electoral roll, over 1.46 crore people are eligible to exercise their franchise.
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