Delhi Police on Friday lodged an FIR against BJP candidate Kapil Mishra in connection with his controversial tweet in which he likened the election in the city to an India versus Pakistan contest, sources said.
The FIR was filed following directions of the poll authorities, they said.
It was lodged at the Model Town Police Station under Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the sources said.
Twitter, meanwhile, removed the controversial tweet following the directions of the Election Commission.
"This Tweet from @KapilMishra_IND has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand," Twitter wrote on the platform along with an impression of the old tweet.
Mishra on January 23 had tweeted "...On 8th February there will be a contest between India and Pakistan on the streets of Delhi."
The Election Commission had earlier asked Twitter to remove the BJP leader's post after the Delhi CEO's office requested the poll body. A show cause notice was also issued to him by the poll authorities for "violation of the poll code".
The Election Commission's action came after the office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer wrote to the EC seeking the removal of the tweet, EC officials said.
However, after the Returning Officer issued a notice to Mishra over his controvesial tweet, the BJP candidate responded by saying that his remarks should not be considered "election-related".
"I have only given my general opinion on the issue and not by way of any election rally or speech. These impugned remarks should not be considered as election related statements. They thus do not fall under the ambit of the Model Code of Conduct or Representation of People Act, 1951," he had said in his response to the show cause notice.
He had also said that his comments had been "taken out of context and misrepresented intentionally to paint a one sided picture to stoke differences".
"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," he was quoted by ANI as saying.
Mishra, a former minister in the Arvind Kejriwal cabinet, had posted the controversial tweet on Thursday. In a series of tweets in Hindi, he had also lashed out at anti-CAA protesters in Shaheen Bagh and other places in the city.
In another post, Mishra had claimed that the BJP would win the polls and that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would resign from his post when votes were counted.
The former AAP leader was removed as a minister by Kejriwal in 2017. Last year, he was also disqualified as AAP MLA under the anti-defection law. Now a member of the BJP, he will be facing AAP MLA Akhileshpati Tripathi in the elections.
Polling will be held on February 8 and the results declared on February 11.
(With inputs from agencies)
