The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued notices to both the Congress and the BJP after their complaints against each other over the use of abusive language during campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka.

The notice to the state BJP chief is based on a complaint filed by Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, who said that the BJP published an advertisement in a leading English newspaper making various claims which, according to the party, are unsubstantiated.

The ECI has given BJP until 8 pm tomorrow to provide verifiable and traceable facts for the claims cited in the advertisement. The saffron party has also been asked to explain why no action should be taken against it for violating the Model Code of Conduct under relevant legal provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the Indian Penal Code.