The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a show cause notice to Congress party leader Priyank Kharge, son of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, for his recent remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the campaign for the Karnataka assembly elections, Kharge referred to the Prime Minister as a "nalayak beta" (useless son). The ECI's action follows an advisory issued to all political parties the previous day, expressing concern over the declining level of discourse during the election campaign. Documents accessed by a media channel indicate that the ECI has taken note of Kharge's statement and has asked him to explain why action should not be taken against him for violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The commission has given Kharge until 5 pm on Thursday to respond to the show cause notice. The notice warns that if Kharge fails to respond, suitable action will be initiated against him, assuming that he has nothing to say in the matter.
