Delhi Election 2020: Kapil Mishra is contesting the February 8 election as the BJP candidate.
The Election Commission today asked Twitter to remove a communal tweet by the BJP's Kapil Mishra, who is contesting the Delhi election. A tweet by Kapil Mishra criticising protests against the citizenship law in Delhi and referring to "mini-Pakistans" in the city is "highly objectionable" and "appeals to communal feelings," the top election body has said in a letter to Twitter.
In his tweet yesterday, Mr Mishra had referred to Shaheen Bagh, the site of one of the most prominent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the country, 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.
In another post, he had compared the February 8 Delhi election to an "India vs Pakistan" clash.
Mr Mishra has been issued notice over the highly controversial tweets and has been asked to file an explanation within a day. He has asked for three days to reply. "I will 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," said the BJP candidate.
The election commission's notice refers to the model code of conduct and says Mr Mishra's comments violate the rule against "aggravating differences or creating mutual hatred or causing tension between different communities".
Mr Mishra has been called out on many recent communal and incendiary tweets.
The 39-year-old is contesting the election as the BJP candidate from Model Town. A former close aide of Arvind Kejriwal, he fell out with AAP after publicly accusing the Chief Minister and a minister of corruption.
AAP had earlier this week asked the Chief Election Officer to cancel Mr Mishra's nomination. The party said it was a rule for those who used government accommodation to furnish no-dues certificate for water, electricity and telephone expenses, but Mr Mishra had not even mentioned it in his nomination papers.
The results of the Delhi election will be announced on February 11.