Buoyed by the Election Commission's (EC) order against Amit Shah and Azam Khan, the Congress today sought action against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, yoga guru Ramdev and spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, accusing them of using religion and spreading hatred among communities while campaigning for Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
In a complaint to the EC, K C Mittal, secretary of the All India Congress Committee's legal department, said action should be initiated against the forces that dominate, dictate and use religion and religious places to provoke voters in Lok Sabha polls.
Reminding the poll body that Modi is a "diehard RSS pracharak", Mittal told PTI that he has already complained to the EC against RSS, Ramdev and Ravi Shankar.
He said the manner in which all religious institutions and persons are involved in campaign and using religious sentiments for electoral gain is "a gross violation of the Constitution of India and the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct."
"All the activities and movements relating to election campaign by all such persons/organisations/groups/associations should be monitored, video-graphed and checked in each of the constituencies," he said.
Any such activity conducted by their members, volunteers or supporters, groups or persons to arouse religious or community feeling to seek vote or campaign in the name of religion, caste or community, directly or indirectly, should be booked under the relevant laws.
He said such activities should totally be banned and special observers may be sent to each constituency.
Mittal also wanted the EC to ban a yoga camp being organised by Ramdev on April 16 and May 17 in Alwar, Rajasthan, in support of BJP candidate Chand Nath.
"This is illegal and against the model code," he said.
Appreciating the EC order barring BJP leader Amit Shah and Azam Khan, a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, from campaigning in UP for their hate speeches, he said, "This is a step in the right direction to maintain peace, tranquillity and communal amity but it is just the tip of the iceberg."