Model Conduct violation: EC issues notice against Modi, Rahul

New Delhi: On alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct, the Election Commission of India issued notices for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's and Wayand MP Rahul Gandhi's statements during election campaigns. The EC sent the notices to BJP national president JP Nadda and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, stating that they are demanding explanations by Monday over the statements by their "star campaigners", Scroll reported.

The EC stated in the notices that the campaigners are expected to contribute "higher quality of discourse". It asked the two party presidents to inform all their star campaigners to maintain the high standards of political discourse expected from them.

Against Modi, the Congress, the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) moved the Election Commission over his statements that Congress was planning to distribute citizen's property among "infiltrators" and Muslims if they came to power.

Modi had said in an election rally in Rajasthan that Congress claimed once that Muslims have the first right over the country's assets. Therefore, Congress will distribute wealth to those who have "more children" and "infiltrators", Modi had said.

The Opposition had called it hate speech and denounced it. Modi was referring to a 2006 speech by then Prime Minister and Congress leader Manmohan Singh, but Modi took his words out of context or did not care to say what Manmohan had said then completely.

Shortly after the Opposition came down on Modi and the BJP, the latter filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of creating a linguistic and regional divide in the country. The Saffron party accused Rahul of creating a rift between northern and southern India as part of his party's election campaign.