The BJP on Friday approached the Election Commission seeking action against Congress President Rahul Gandhi for repeatedly calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi "a thief" and also attributing to the Supreme Court things it did not say in the Rafale jet case.
A BJP delegation comprising Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi met EC officials here and also alleged that the poll panel had ignored their earlier complaints against Gandhi on the issue.
"The Congress President is using abusive words and statements that are untrue. He is repeatedly calling the Prime Minister 'chor' without any evidence despite the Supreme Court's December verdict in the Rafale case, and also putting words into the mouth of Supreme Court," Sitharaman told reporters.
"We have complained to the EC that neither the SC nor the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) have said anything of this kind. But the EC did not take cognizance. It looked the other way.
"During election time if he is uttering words which are untrue, can the Election Commission ignore it?" the BJP leader asked.
"The Supreme Court has made it clear that 'chowkidarji' (watchman) has committed a theft," Gandhi told reporters after filing his nomination papers in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.