The Election Commission on Sunday issued show cause notices to Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav for making speeches that violated the model code of conduct during the ongoing Bihar elections. The commission has sought their response by November 4, as the rivals continue bitter campaigns against each other with one phase of the polls left to go.

Amit Shah has been pulled up for saying that firecrackers would go off in Pakistan if the Janata Dal (United)-RJD-Congress alliance won the elections. Rahul Gandhi has been asked to explain why he said that the BJP is trying to make Indians fight with each other everywhere it goes. Gandhi also claimed that the BJP’s “foot soldiers…turn Hindus against Muslims”, a statement the commission has strongly objected to. The regulatory body also took note of Yadav’s repeated controversial statements about Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP had earlier complained to the commission that Yadav called Modi a “vampire” and Shah a “cannibal”.