Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashwini Upadhyay on Monday filed a police complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his tweets in connection with a man’s shooting by a constable in Lucknow, reported PTI.
Vivek Tiwari, a technology company executive, had died after a policeman shot him in what was later justified as “self defence” when his car rammed into the officer’s bike in Lucknow on Saturday morning. The next day, Kejriwal criticised the government, claiming that “the BJP does not protect the interests of Hindus”.
“Wasn’t Vivek Tiwari a Hindu?” Kejriwal wrote. “Then why did they kill him?”
Upadhyay, who filed the complaint at the Tilak Nagar police station, accused Kejriwal of “promoting enmity on grounds of religion”, “doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”, and for defaming BJP leaders. He demanded that the police file a First Information Report under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act (punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form).
“If the Chief Minister of Delhi says such things publicly, then anything can be expected from the common man,” said Upadhyay’s complaint. “Public order and peace will be jeopardised at the cost of freedom of speech and expression.”
Calling Kejriwal’s tweet “deliberate and malicious”, Upadhyay accused him of intending to outrage religious feelings and disparage Hindus and the BJP at the cost of threat to peace and public order.
The Delhi Police is looking into the complaint, an unidentified senior officer told PTI. “We are seeking legal opinion on whether a case can be made out with regard to the complaint,” he said.
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