Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi | Congress general secretary K C Venugopal on Friday accused the EC of acting like a "BJP department," alleging that it swiftly issued a notice to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge over his remarks against the prime minister, while taking no action on Narendra Modi's recent public address.

Venugopal claimed that the prime minister's recent public address, following the defeat of bills related to women's reservation and delimitation in Parliament, was "a clear violation of election rules and the Model Code of Conduct." However, he alleged that the Election Commission had taken no action on the matter despite complaints from opposition parties, including the Congress.

"But a notice was issued within 24 hours to the Congress chief over a non-issue, despite him issuing a clarification. He was given just 24 hours to respond to the notice.

"So, the PM has a clean chit to say anything and violate any election rules. The EC has turned into a BJP department," Venugopal contended while speaking to reporters in Delhi.

The EC notice was sent to Kharge over his "terrorist" remark regarding the PM.

The Congress chief made the remark during a poll campaign speech in Tamil Nadu. He later clarified that he meant to say that the PM was "terrorising" the democratic fabric of the country by misusing government machinery.

Regarding discussions on social media about who will be the CM if the UDF wins the Kerala Assembly polls, Venugopal said those who wished could engage in such speculation, but he was not interested in it.

He added that the party had already made its stand clear on the issue and that he had nothing more to say.