New Delhi, June 2: Parliamentarian Manoj Tiwari is no longer the president of Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi unit. The BJP has removed Manoj Tiwari and appointed Adesh Kumar as the new Delhi BJP chief. Manoj Tiwari had offered his resignation in February after BJP's resounding defeat in the Delhi assembly polls. Since he entered politics, Tiwari often hits headlines with his controversial remarks and moves. From donning military attire during campaigning to recently violating the lockdown, Manoj Tiwari triggers controversies every now and then. Here are five instances when Tiwari was embroiled into controversies.

1- Due to the nationwide lockdown, large gatherings and sports events are prohibited. But Manoj Tiwari flouted the lockdown rules in May and reached Sonipat in Haryana to play cricket. This happened when the Delhi-Haryana borders were sealed to contain the spread of coronavirus. Tiwari was seen singing, posing for selfies and interacting with a group of people without wearing a mask and violating social distancing norms.

Manoj Tiwari Plays Cricket During Lockdown:

2- In 2017, Manoj Tiwari drew criticism when a video of him apparently mocking people standing in queues outside ATMs following the demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes, went viral on social media. Watch the video below:

3- In 2019, Manoj Tiwari courted controversy for attending a BJP rally in Delhi dressed in military colours. Tiwari flagged off a BJP bike rally in the Yamuna Vihar area in his North East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency wearing military fatigues. Opposition parties slammed Tiwari for "misusing" armed forces for political gains. Tiwari, however, defending his move saying he wore army fatigues to express his gratitude towards soldiers.

4- Ahead of the Delhi assembly polls in February this year, Manoj Tiwari made a personal attack on Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal. Reacting to Kejriwal's visit to a Hanuman temple, Tiwari called the AAP leader a "nakli bhakt" and said that Lord Hanuman's idol had to be "washed" several times after Arvind Kejriwal touched it with his "dirty" hands.

5- After the Delhi polls, Manoj Tiwari drew eyeballs when he said that hate speeches cost the BJP elections in the national capital. In Delhi assembly polls, Kejriwal's AAP won 62 out of 70 seats, while the BJP secured just eight seats. The election was marred by provocative remarks and personal attacks made by BJP leader Parvesh Singh and Kapil Mishra.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 02, 2020 04:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).