Congress urges EC to act against PM

NEWDELHI: The Congress on Monday accused PM Narendra Modi of “vitiating the atmosphere” in UP during polls, even as it urged the Election Commission to take “appropriate action” against him for his “graveyards and cremation grounds” remark.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said the PM was making such statements in “desperation and frustration” and to “polarise” the ongoing polls given that the BJP was staring at an imminent defeat. “Modi has tried to whip up communal tensions and polarise society. His speech shows his mindset,” Sharma said. “True to his form, Modi is vitiating the atmosphere.”

The Congress had initially planned to take a delegation to the commission with an appeal to take action against the PM for his remarks, but later dropped the idea, arguing that the poll body should suo motu take cognisance of the statement.

While the party’s head of legal cell KC Mittal said the move was cancelled due to “unavailability of some senior leaders”, a party functionary said “delegation visits to the EC have been reduced to mere photo-ops”.