The election authorities on Friday directed the Delhi Police to file an FIR against Kapil Mishra, a BJP candidate, over his controversial tweet about the assembly elections in the national capital. Mishra, in his tweet on Thursday, had likened the February 8 elections to a contest between India and Pakistan.
The poll authorities have also issued a show cause notice to Mishra, a former minister in the Arvind Kejriwal cabinet, for “violation” of the poll code.
"India vs Pakistan 8th February Delhi. There will be a contest on Delhi Roads between India and Pakistan on February 8,” Mishra had tweeted. Referring to the anti-CAA protests, he further said "Pakistan has already entered Shaheen Bagh and small pockets of Pakistan are being created in Delhi."
Earlier, the Election Commission had asked the micro-blogging site to remove Mishra's tweet. The poll panel's action came after the office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer wrote to the EC to remove the tweet posted by Mishra.
Mishra faces AAP MLA Akhileshpati Tripathi in Model Town constituency.
After his tweet triggered a controversy, Mishra said his comments were taken out of context. "My comments have been taken out of context and misrepresented intentionally to paint a one-sided picture, to stoke differences. I swear by the Constitution of India and abide by its values," he said.
He said his statement must be seen in "the context of Pakistan's attempt at sending their proxies to take undue advantage of a prevailing law and order situation in Delhi".
The Delhi election will be a triangular fight involving the Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress.
Polling will be held on February 8 and the results declared on February 11.
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.
With inputs from PTI