Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra on Wednesday hit out at those calling for his arrest following the violent clashes in North East Delhi related to the Citizenship Amendment Act that has claimed at least 20 lives. Mishra is accused of instigating people after he gave a three-day ultimatum to the Delhi Police on Sunday to stop an anti-CAA protest in the national Capital. His speech came hours before clashes between two groups began.
“Those who did not consider Burhan Wani and Afzal Guru as terrorists are calling Kapil Mishra a terrorist,” he tweeted in Hindi. “Those who go to court to get Yakub Memon, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam released are demanding the arrest of Kapil Mishra. Jai Shri Ram.”
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Mishra tweeted a video on Tuesday night of the Delhi Police clearing out protestors in Jaffrabad locality with the caption: “Jaffrabad [protest site] has been emptied. There will not be another Shaheen Bagh in Delhi.” The protestors had been sitting outside the Jaffrabad metro station in North East Delhi since Saturday night as they emulated the two-month old Shaheen Bagh demonstration in South Delhi, where women have also blocked a road to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Population Register and the National Register of Citizens.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday evening, Mishra claimed there was a hate campaign against him but he was not afraid. He alleged that he had received death threats over the phone, and asked if clearing a blocked road was a crime. In another tweet, Mishra asked the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government to provide Rs 1 crore as compensation to the police constable who was killed during the violence.
Mishra’s party colleague and BJP MLA Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday criticised him for making the provocative comments that was followed by the violence. Gambhir said strict action should be taken against those responsible for inciting violence irrespective of their political allegiance. “No matter who the person is, whether he is Kapil Mishra or anyone else, belonging to any party, if he has given any provoking speech, then strict action should be taken against him,” he said. “This is about Delhi [and] not about any political party.”
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