Lok Sabha Election 2019: Ado over PM Narendra Modi's choice of attire

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two day pilgrimage to Uttarakhand's holy shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath that got exhaustive coverage on television a day before last phase voting has reignited controversy about the sanctity of model code of conduct and Election Commission's role to implement it.

CPI(M) general secretary was among the few politicians who chose to denounce it as a campaign gimmick against the model code.

"Modi violates the MCC brazenly with footage of his Kedarnath religious activity over TV channels during the silent period before polling. And the Election Commission continues to sleep on the job," tweeted Yechury.

PM Modi was apparently sending a message to voters in West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh on Sunday as he undertook Parikrama of Kedarnath temple and later interacted with local officials, even taking time out to monitor the progress of ongoing development works in the area.

PM's choice of attire he chose to wear also clearly hinted that it was a message intended for over 1.5 crore voters of West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh in the last phase of voting, said sources.

Sources travelling with the Prime Minister said he was wearing a robe like garment similar to a "Jobba" with a saffron belt around the waist. His headgear of choice was a 'Himachali topi'. The 'Jobba' was made trendy by Nobel prize winner and West Bengal's most famous icon Rabindranath Tagore while the saffron belt sported by Modi today was a homage to Kolkata-born Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda.