New Delhi:

The new Delhi government led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta will have six cabinet ministers, including former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kapil Mishra. A Union Home Ministry notification on Thursday said that President Droupadi Murmu, on the advice of Ms Gupta, appointed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj, Kapil Mishra and Pankaj Kumar Singh as ministers of the Delhi government.

They took oath along with Ms Gupta in a grand ceremony at the Ramlila Ground, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries.

Here are the six ministers on Rekha Gupta’s new Delhi team:

Parvesh Verma

Parvesh Verma, a two-time BJP MP, defeated AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi seat. Mr Verma is a prominent Jat face in the national capital.

Born on November 7, 1977, he is the son of former Delhi chief minister Sahib Singh Verma. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi University, and later earned an MBA from the Fore School of Management.

Rekha Gupta offers sweets to Parvesh Verma after she was named the new Chief Minister of Delhi
Photo Credit: ANI

Mr Verma is married to Swati Singh, the daughter of former Union Minister and BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh, Vikram Verma. They have three children.

Kapil Mishra

Kapil Mishra, a former AAP leader, won the Karawal Nagar constituency on a BJP ticket. Born on November 13, 1980, in Delhi, he is the son of Annapurna Mishra, a former East Delhi mayor, and Rameshwar Mishra, a socialist leader. He completed his education at Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Kapil Mishra during a public meeting at Karawal Nagar in Delhi on February 1
Photo Credit: ANI

He was appointed Delhi’s water resources minister in the Arvind Kejriwal-led government. In 2017, he was sacked from the cabinet and joined the BJP in 2019.

He was also accused of making hate speeches during communal riots in Delhi in 2020.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa

Manjinder Singh Sirsa is the Sikh face of the BJP. He won the 2025 Delhi assembly elections from Rajouri Garden.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa shows a victory sign after winning the Rajouri Garden seat in the Delhi Assembly Election on February 8
Photo Credit: ANI

A three-time MLA, Mr Sirsa was earlier associated with the Shiromani Akali Dal.

Ashish Sood

Ashish Sood is a known face in Delhi’s Punjabi community. Born on September 2, 1966, Mr Sood, a first-time MLA from Janakpuri, is a senior leader with some hands-on experience in administrative matters gained during BJP’s rule in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

He has also been the vice president of BJP’s Delhi unit.

Ashish Sood with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a poll rally in Delhi on January 31

He is also BJP’s in-charge for Goa, and co-in-charge for the party’s Jammu and Kashmir unit.

Pankaj Kumar Singh 

BJP’s Pankaj Kumar Singh is a first-time MLA from Vikaspuri.

Pankaj Kumar Singh shows a victory sign as he arrives at the Delhi BJP office in New Delhi after the Assembly election results
Photo Credit: PTI

A Purvanchali leader, Mr Singh is a dentist by profession.

Ravinder Indraj Singh

Ravinder Indraj Singh is BJP’s Dalit leader. He won the Bawana (SC) seat by more than 31,000 votes.

He has also been an executive member of BJP’s Scheduled Caste Morcha.

New Delhi:

A local court has ordered the registration of an FIR against a Delhi Police officer for alleged hate crime during the February 2020 communal riots in the city’s northeast.

The court also deprecated the conduct of the investigating officer (IO) for failing to inquire about the alleged role of former MLA Kapil Mishra in the rioting incident connected to the matter, saying he “tried to cover up the allegations” against the BJP leader.

Judicial Magistrate Udbhav Kumar Jain was hearing an application under Section 156 (3) of the erstwhile Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), seeking the court’s directions to register an FIR against the-then Jyoti Nagar SHO and others.

Power under this section can be exercised by the magistrate to direct the police to conduct an investigation in respect of a cognisable offence.

The complainant, one Mohammed Wasim, claimed that he was among five people allegedly assaulted and forced to sing the national anthem during the communal riots on February 24.

A clip that had become widely circulated on social media purported to show five Muslim men being beaten up by policemen and forced to sing the national anthem and “Vande Mataram”, the national song.

In an order dated January 18, the court said, “Clearly, the SHO police station Jyoti Nagar, Tomar (complete name with post not provided) and other unknown police officials engaged themselves in hate crimes against the complainant or victim and they cannot be protected under the garb of sanction as alleged offences committed by them cannot be said to have been committed while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of their official duty.” It directed that an FIR be registered against the-then SHO under sections 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

“The current SHO is directed to depute a responsible officer not below the rank of inspector to conduct investigation in the present matter and role of other unknown police officials involved in the commission of alleged offences can be ascertained during investigation,” the court added.

It noted that an action taken report had been filed by the IO in the matter that merely denied the complainant’s allegations.

The court said the action taken report did not mention any substantive steps that had been taken for conducting a preliminary inquiry and remained silent regarding the CCTV camera footage of the alleged incident.

It said, “Thus, inquiry pertaining to alleged acts or offences against the complainant has not been conducted properly.” The also court noted Wasim’s claim about identifying Mishra as leading the riotous mob.

“The complainant saw that the personnel of Delhi Police were fully supporting the alleged accused Kapil Mishra. Policemen were also pelting stones on the Muslims, and firing bullets. Due to the above attack, the protesters, women, and children escaped from there to save their lives and thereafter, a majority of rioters led by Kapil Mishra also went towards Chand Bagh shouting slogans,” the court noted.

Regarding the allegations against Mishra, the court said it appeared that the “IO was more concerned about the police officials and either he failed to make inquiry against the alleged accused No 3 (Mishra) or he tried to cover up the allegations against the said accused and the action taken report was completely silent qua him”.

“The Constitution guarantees equal protection of law and equality before law and no citizen of India enjoys any special treatment from the rule of law. The alleged accused No 3 is in public eyes and is prone to more scrutiny; such persons in the society direct the course or mood of the public at large and thus, responsible behaviour within the ambit of the Constitution is expected from such persons,” the court observed.

It, however, directed the complainant to approach the special court which was competent to try offences against former or sitting MLAs.

Last July, Delhi High Court transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) a case related to the death of a 23-year-old man who was seen in the video being purportedly assaulted and forced to sing the national anthem during the riots.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

BJP rushed to placate the outgoing MLA from Karawal Nagar after the ticket from his current seat was given to Kapil Mishra. Mohan Singh Bisht was then given a ticket from Mustafabad in the third list of candidates released on Sunday, ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly election.

Mr Bisht, who has won all except one assembly election from Karawal Nagar since 1998, had earlier said, “The BJP thinks they will field anyone and he will win. This is a big mistake. You have challenged the ‘samaj’ (his Uttarakhandi community), not Mohan Singh Bisht. The BJP will lose at least 8-10 seats because of this decision, including Karawal Nagar, Burari, Mustafabad and Gokalpuri.”

Later, Mr Bisht expressed confidence that he would win the Mustafabad seat for the BJP. “I met the national president and things were ironed out. I have assured that I will contest from Mustafabad and win the seat for the party,” Bisht told PTI. The MLA said he and the BJP had considerable support in Mustafabad and he has already attended two public meetings there.

Another protest at the Delhi BJP office voiced resentment over the candidate fielded from Tughlakabad. “Vikram Bidhuri Tum Sangharsh Karo; Modi Se Bair Nahi, Rohtas Teri Khair Nahi,” the protesters, including mostly youngsters, chanted as the party leaders tried to pacify them. In the second list of BJP candidates, Rohtas Bidhuri was fielded from the Tughlakabad seat. 

A similar protest was also held by some party workers outside the Delhi BJP office against Mehrauli candidate Gajainder Yadav after the announcement of the first list of candidates earlier this month.

Mr Bisht is the only candidate announced as part of the third list of BJP candidates for the Delhi polls. In the first and second lists, 29 candidates each were announced. So far, the BJP has announced 59 candidates.

Elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly are scheduled on February 5, the counting of votes for which will be held on February 8. The elections will see the Aam Aadmi Party looking to retain power for the third consecutive term, despite many of its leaders being tainted by various cases. The BJP, out of power in Delhi since 1998, is making all-out efforts to return to the helm.

New Delhi:

Delhi BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht has slammed the party’s decision to field colleague Kapil Mishra from his seat for the upcoming polls, saying they have made a “big mistake”. The BJP named Mr Mishra as its candidate from Karawal Nagar yesterday, replacing Mr Bisht who had won the 2020 elections against the AAP’s Durgesh Pathak. Mr Bisht, who has won all except one assembly election from here since 1998, has asserted he won’t move to another seat and will file his nomination from Karawal Nagar.

“The BJP thinks they will field anyone and he will win. This is a big mistake. Only time will tell what will happen in Burari, Karawal Nagar, Ghonda, Seelampur, Gokalpuri, and Nand Nagri seats. I will not contest from any other seat. I will file my nomination from Karawal Nagar seat before January 17,” the veteran politician told news agency ANI.

Read: Former Chief Minister’s Son, Ex AAP Minister On BJP’s 2nd List For Delhi Polls

Mr Mishra, however, has predicted a big victory and said, “The people of Karawal Nagar are excited and we will register a big win here. There is a wave of transformation in Delhi. BJP is going to form the government here.”

In the 2015 elections, Mr Mishra had contested from the Karawal Nagar seat on an AAP ticket and defeated Mr Bisht. He went on to join the AAP cabinet, but it was short-lived. He was dropped as a minister and suspended from the party in 2017 after he accused senior AAP leaders of corruption.

Mr Mishra joined the BJP in 2019 ahead of the elections and shot to the headlines after referring to anti-citizenship law protest sites as “mini Pakistans”. He had even issued an ultimatum to the Delhi Police to clear the protest sites in Jaffrabad and Chandbagh or face consequences.

The BJP is vying to dethrone the AAP from power in the national capital where the assembly elections will be held on February 5. The votes will be counted on February 8.

New Delhi:

With less than a month to go for the Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP has released its second list of 29 candidates. The list includes Delhi BJP Vice President Kapil Mishra – a former MLA who was earlier with the AAP – who has been fielded from the Karawal Nagar constituency, and former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana’s son Harsh Khurana.

BJP leader Karnail Singh will contest against AAP’s former minister Satyendar Jain from Shakur Basti. Parvesh Verma, who is the son of former Delhi chief minister Sahib Singh Verma, had been named in the party’s first list. 

Only one sitting MLA – Mohan Singh Bisht – has been dropped from Karawal Nagar, probably to accommodate Mr Mishra, who represented the constituency earlier, when he was with the AAP. Mr Mishra joined the BJP in 2019 and made headlines a year later after referring to sites where protests were taking place against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as “mini-Pakistans”. He had also issued an ultimatum to the Delhi Police to clear anti-CAA protesters from Jaffrabad and Chandbagh or face the consequences.

Neelam Krishan Pahalwan, who was elected as the BJP councillor from the Dichaon Kalan ward with the highest number of votes, will contest from Najafgarh, which was the constituency of former Delhi minister and recent BJP entrant Kailash Gahlot. The former AAP leader featured in the first list and will be contesting from Bijwasan. 

The BJP has named five women in the second list, taking its number of women candidates to seven so far.

With Saturday’s list, the party has now named candidates for 58 of Delhi’s 70 seats. The first list included the names of Parvesh Verma, former MP Ramesh Bidhuri and former Congress leader and minister Arvinder Singh Lovely.