A political row erupted on Sunday over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath shrine. Trinamool Congress, TDP and a Congress MP from West Bengal wrote to the Election Commission (EC) claiming that “continuous” telecast of Modi’s “private activities” at the shrines is violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

While Modi “thanked” the EC for giving him the permission for the visit, Congress president Rahul Gandhi hit out at the poll body, saying its “capitulation” before “PM Modi and his gang” is obvious.

“From electoral bonds and EVMs to manipulating the election schedule, NaMo TV, ‘Modi’s Army’ and now the drama in Kedarnath; the EC capitulation before Modi and his gang is obvious to all Indians,” Rahul tweeted.

A day after the deadline for campaigning concluded, Modi visited Kedarnath and spent around 17 hours inside a holy cave near the shrine, offered prayers and performed puja at the temple. Photographs of Modi meditating inside the cave and visiting the shrine were widely circulated in the media. On Sunday, he visited Badrinath.

Citing that the campaigning for the seventh and the final phase of Lok Sabha polls 2019 was over on May 17, TMC leader Derek O’Brien, in his letter to the EC, urged that the broadcast of Modi’s visit to the shrines should be ‘stopped’ as it’s a violation of the MCC.

The TMC leader also said PM Modi’s activities were being covered in minute detail and is being widely publicised “with an ulterior motive to influence voters directly and/or indirectly”. O’Brien also said that the “Modi Modi” chants were also being heard in the background. “All these moves are well calculated with the ill-intention to influence the voters even on the date of poll,” O’Brien said in his letter to the poll body.

“He even announced that the master plan for the Kedarnath temple is ready and also addressed the public and the media at Kedarnath. lt is absolutely unethical and morally incorrect,” O’Brien said.

After TMC, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, who was in the national Capital, also wrote to the EC, alleged that this is “indirect canvassing” and influencing voters through a person’s religious beliefs and public display of his personal religious activities. Modi’s activities like meditating in caves, walking in various costumes, making announcements on Badrinath and Kedarnath master plan, and thus making direct references and indirect appeal to the people of specific religion, amounts to canvassing in disguise, he added.

“...The Election Commission of India, which should have stopped this, has been a mute spectator (thus) further strengthening the public belief that it has different sets of rules for the PM and BJP, and the rules in vogue for other political parties,” Naidu said. Modi, who has expressed scientific knowledge guiding the scientists and defence experts to go ahead with air strikes on a cloudy day to escape from being caught by radars, is now trying to project a “megalomaniac” image of himself through various “dubious” activities, Naidu added. The TDP chief also said it was alarming to see the Prime Minister mentioning about ‘satta’ market, an illegal occupation, and how people suffered huge loss for betting on a particular party in 2014.

For his part, Congress MP Pradip Bhattachraya wrote to the poll body saying that the way he (Modi) ensured media coverage of his trip to Kedarnath temple is nothing but a violation of MCC.