CPI(M) hits out at Modi for invoking Lord Ram

CPI(M) today lashed out at BJP leader Narendra Modi for invoking Lord Ram, saying it was "blatant misuse of religious appeal" to garner votes and asked the Election Commission to take action against him for the "electoral offence".
Referring to Modi's address at a rally in Faizabad yesterday, CPI(M) Politburo said he not only used a portrait of Ram as the backdrop but also made a direct appeal invoking the deity's name in his political statements.
"These are a blatant misuse of religious appeal for electoral purposes. The Election Commission should immediately take action against this electoral offence."
The major Left party said Modi and BJP President Rajnath Singh have also been "constantly raising the issue of 'Bangladeshi' infiltrators in order to target the Bengali- speaking Muslims."

"In a number of speeches made in Assam and West Bengal, they have threatened that these 'infiltrators' will be thrown out of the country. Such a campaign with communal overtones has caused insecurity amongst minorities and raised tensions," the CPI(M) said.
This, it alleged, has been "one of the factors that contributed to the killing of 31 persons in the Bodoland Territorial District of Assam where Bengali-speaking Muslims were targeted by Bodo extremists."
Condemning the "rabid communal propaganda by the BJP leadership", it urged the Election Commission to immediately intervene "to stop the BJP leadership from indulging in such communal targeting".