Lok Sabha Elections 2024: 'ECI cannot consciously remain silent': Sitaram Yechury urges poll body to take 'immediate' action against PM Modi

New Delhi: Warning that the impartiality of the poll body will be in question if it does not take action against those in top posts for violations, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday approached the Election Commission against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks on Opposition parties running bulldozer on Ram Temple.

He also demanded action against Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh) and Himanta Biswas Sarma (Assam) for their remarks on quota and Muslims.

Sharing his letter on ‘X’, he said, “The ECI must act immediately. ECI cannot consciously remain silent which is tantamount to the betrayal of its constitutional mandate to ‘conduct free and fair polls’.”

In his letter, Yechury said the EC had earlier issued notices to BJP chief Nadda on complaints against Modi but it had "no impact as revealed by the repeated violations" by the Prime Minister and other party leaders.

He said he had filed a series of complaints earlier against BJP leaders for their "resort to blatant lies and fabrication, fear mongering and overtly communal appeals" but “sadly”, no culprits were punished by the EC.

Seeking action, he referred to Modi's speech in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki on May 16 where he said, "if SP and Congress come to power, Ram Lalla will be in a tent again and they will run a bulldozer on Ram temple”.

In a rally in Bihar's Saran on May 17, Yechury said Adityanath spoke about "Congress’ politics of appeasement" and remarked that the Congress and RJD were trying to rob SCs, STs and OBCs of quotas and divert those to Muslims.

Sarma told a rally in Siwan on May 18 that if the NDA returns to power, it would bring the UCC and put an end to “this business of marrying four times”. Further, in an obvious reference to madrasas, he also said that “we will shut down shops that produce mullas”, Yechury said.

“While reiterating our demand for action on the complaints we had lodged with the ECI earlier, we also urge the Commission to immediately act against Narendra Modi, Yogi Adidyanath and Himanta Biswas…," he said.

“We had through our earlier complaints warned the Commission that if it fails to take decisive action in cases where the offenders are those in high positions of power, the impartiality of the ECI will be in question and its credibility compromised,” he added.