In a setback for the rebel AAP leader who is contesting on BJP ticket from Model Town constituency, Kapil Mishra, the Election Commission on Saturday banned the candidate from campaigning for 48 hours starting 5 pm today.
The Election Commission’s decision came against Mishra’s controversial statements in which he compared the February 8 Assembly Election as India vs Pakistan contest and referred Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh as “mini-Pakistan”.
As reported by NDTV, the ban order was signed by the Chief Election Commissioner and two fellow Election Commissioners, which would come into force from 5 pm on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, an FIR was lodged at the Model Town Police Station under Section 125 (promoting enmity between classes in connection with election) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
The FIR was registered hours after Mishra submitted his response to the poll panel over his tweets and statements.
The tweets did not gone down well with the Election officials as the Returning Officer (RO) for the Model Town Assembly constituency, Banwari Lal, sent the BJP leader a show-cause notice on the matter seeking his explanation by 12:30 pm on Friday.
Twitter, meanwhile, said it has “withheld” the controversial tweet following the directions of the Election Commission. The tweet was, however, not removed and could be seen on the platform.
On Thursday, Kapil Mishra, BJP’s Model Town candidate, had in a tweet said that February 8 polls will be a “match between India and Pakistan”.
He further, in another tweet, went on to describe the Shaheen Bagh protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as “mini Pakistans” being created in Delhi.
“AAP and Congress have created these mini-Pakistans, like the one in Shaheen Bagh. They will get the answer from India on February 8. Whenever seditious people create a Pakistan in India, they will come face-to-face with patriotic Indians,” Mishra ranted.
His tweet came in response to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and AAP candidate from Patparganj Assembly seat Manish Sisodia’s comment that he stands with the people of Shaheen Bagh.
However, Mishra on Friday, despite the show cause notice slapped on him, remained defiant and claimed that his remarks were “general opinion” and “do not fall under the ambit of the model code of conduct and the Representation of the People Act”.