After Yogi, Mayawati, will EC act against Modi: Congress

Welcoming the Election Commission's (EC) curbs on BSP chief Mayawati and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's campaigning, the Congress on Monday asked if the poll panel would now act against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The EC has pushed pause button on hate speech campaigners! Vindicates our stand that hate campaigners like Adityanath should be barred from campaigning. Acting on our complaint, the EC shut the mouths of those spreading hatred," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a tweet. "Will the EC act against Modiji, now?" he asked.

The Congress leader's remarks came after the EC barred Mayawati and Adityanath from campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections for 48 and 72 hours respectively for violating the model code of conduct with their speeches.

While the BSP leader had urged the Muslim community to vote only for the SP-BSP-RLD alliance candidates, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader had told a gathering that if the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had faith in Ali, "we have faith in Bajrangbali".

The poll panel also asked Adityanath to explain his comment calling the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) a "virus" and saying that the Congress was infected with this "green virus".