A screenshot of Kapil Mishra's crowdfunding appeal
‘Help the Hindu families who are the victims of Delhi riots,’ reads a crowdfunding appeal by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra, who is leading an appeal to solicit funds to rebuild lives of victims affected by last week’s sectarian violence in the National Capital.
The crowdfunding campaign being led by Mishra, first shared through his Twitter account on March 1, has so far been able to collect more than Rs 72 lakh. Done through a website crowdkash.com, Mishra has appealed to Indians and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to help the riot victims.
As of Monday, at 9 PM, the Mishra-led campaign had already achieved its goal of crowdfunding Rs 71 lakh, with a total of 3,972 persons backing him. According to the website, the campaign would continue for 11 more days.
“The goal of this campaign is to identify families who are massively impacted due to the riots and help them with monetary assistance. We believe that this would act as a short-term relief for these underprivileged Hindu families who have been impacted by the riots,” reads the appeal.
The crowdfunding campaign by Mishra comes amid a heated debate over the leader’s alleged role in inciting violence in northeast Delhi, with a speech he delivered on Feb 24 at a citizenship law protest at Jafrabad metro station being cited by his critics as a primary reason which flared up the violence.
At least 46 persons have been left dead in last week’s clashes, the worst the national capital has witnessed since the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. News agency IANS reported on Monday that a total of 335 FIRs have been filed in connection with riots, involving the arrest of close to 900 persons.
The Supreme Court earlier in the day agreed to hear cases against several BJP leaders who have been accused victims of inciting violence in the National Capital last week. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, while hearing a batch of petitions filed by victims, said that the apex court "wishes for peace but has limitation to its power," according to several media reports.
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