Several statements of PM Modi violate Model Code of Conduct: Sitaram Yechury

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday, 18 April accused PM Narendra Modi of making statements which were allegedly violative of the Model Code of Conduct during his Lok Sabha poll campaign in various parts of the country.

Yechury said that he has given a complaint in this regard to the Election Commission listing out the statements made by Modi allegedly "aimed at sharpening communal polarisation on the issue of Ram".

The veteran CPI(M) leader was speaking to the media in this north Kerala district.

Yechury said that he was one of the first political leaders to be arrested for opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Left party was the one which moved a habeas corpus plea in the Supreme Court against alleged detention of politicians in Kashmir after Article 370 was abrogated and the CPI(M) was also the first to oppose the electoral bonds in the top court.

He said that in all these issues and various others, it was the CPI(M) which was at the front opposing the saffron party and questioned "in all these instances where were those who charge us with not opposing the BJP".

Yechury's statement came in the wake of the social media campaign against CPI(M)'s Vatakara LS candidate K K Shailaja.

Terming the campaign against her as "virulent and obscene", he said that it indicates that she has won the election.

The Marxist veteran further said that decorum needs to be maintained by all during political campaigning.

"My only appeal to everybody concerned is to definitely criticise, campaign against and attack our political position and policies, but do not go to such lengths as to telling untruths and conducting personal attacks. Let us maintain the decorum of the campaign," he said.

The Lok Sabha elections will be held in Kerala on 26 April and the results will be declared on 4 June.