More and more BJP leaders using anti-Muslim tropes, CPI-M complains to EC

CPI(M) leader Yechury accuses BJP of anti-Muslim rhetoric, urges Election Commission to take immediate action.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday wrote to the Election Commission alleging poll code violations by BJP leaders, and claimed that more and more leaders of the saffron party are now “resorting to inciting hatred using anti-Muslim tropes”.

Mr. Yechury, in a post on X, shared a copy of his complaint to the EC, and said the poll panel must act immediately.

“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,” he said.

In his letter, he said the CPI(M) has filed a series of complaints against BJP leaders for Model Code of Conduct violations.

“We have through a series of complaints earlier brought to the attention of the Election Commission of India the serious violation of the Model Code of Conduct by a number of leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Their resort to blatant lies and fabrication, fear mongering and overtly communal appeals were highlighted in these complaints. Sadly, in none of these complaints has the ECI punished the culprits,” Mr. Yechury said.

Mr. Yechury said on the complaint against Modi, in a departure from precedents, instead of sending a notice to him, the EC sent a notice to BJP president J.P. Nadda. “But this notice to the BJP has had no impact as is revealed by repeated violations both by the Prime Minister as well as other leaders of the BJP,” he said.

“More and more leaders of the BJP are now taking resort to inciting hatred against the Muslim community using anti-Muslim tropes,” he said.