The Election Commission on Saturday issued a showcause notice to Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for his remarks wherein he asked Muslims to vote en bloc to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The poll panel said prima facie Sidhu violated the model code of conduct in place for the Lok Sabha polls, and also a Supreme Court direction barring use of religious references for political propaganda.

The Congress leader has been given 24 hours to respond to the notice.

An FIR was lodged against Sidhu recently in the Katihar district of Bihar for making the remarks at an election rally there.

Addressing the rally, the cricketer-turned-politician had urged Muslim voters of a Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar, with a sizeable population of the minority community, to vote together and defeat Modi.