Activists File Multiple Complaints Against BJP's Kapil Mishra for 'Inciting Social Disharmony'

Aligarh: Social activists from Aligarh and Delhi have filed multiple complaints with police and Home Ministry's cyber-cell against BJP leader Kapil Mishra, alleging his social media post incited hatred against Muslims, sources said Wednesday.

They said former president of Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union Faizul Hasan is among those who have registered the complaints with the cyber-cell.

In August, Mishra, then with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was disqualified as a member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly under the anti-defection law.

Hasan has accused Mishra of repeatedly posting comments on social media that incited hatred against the Muslim community. His complaint was filed on October 28, the sources said.

Hasan said the decision to file complaints against all such hate messages on social media was taken by a group of social activists, including prominent lawyers like Saket Gokhale.

He said the latest controversial tweet by Mishra came at a time when Delhi was facing severe air pollution and Mishra allegedly gave a communal twist to the issue.

He said the Delhi-based social activist and others have decided that if the Delhi Police fails to prosecute Mishra, "then we will take judicial recourse in this matter".

Hasan also said that a group of lawyers and social activists have decided to set up a cell in every district which would report all hate posts on the social media and follow it up by filing complaints with the Home Ministry's cyber-cell and the relevant police station.

While Hasan and Gokhale have filed separate complaints with the cyber-cell, another AAP leader has filed a complaint against Mishra at Jamia Nagar police station in Delhi.

Ahead of Diwali, Mishra had written on Twitter, "If you want pollution to come down, then you should reduce these firecrackers and not the ones burst on Diwali." He had tagged a photograph of an elderly man with a skull cap and several children along with women in burqa, waiting in a queue.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal hit out at Mishra, accusing him of comparing "Muslim children to pollution" for his "petty politics" and stoking acrimony in society. Mishra, however, said he is only advocating population control but is being abused and threatened on phone and social media for his tweet.