An FIR was filed Monday against Congress nominee Ajai Rai on the directive of the Election Commission for violating the code of conduct by sporting the party symbol when he was going to vote.

Police said the FIR has been lodged at Sigra police station under sections 126 and 130 of the RP Act and section 171 (H) of IPC relating to the code of conduct. Rai was booked shortly after the EC’s direction to the district administration following a report by special election observer Praveen Kumar.

Rai said his action cannot be compared to that of Narendra Modi. On April 30, Modi had flashed the lotus while taking a “selfie”, and made a speech after voting in Gandhinagar.

Rai got support, unexpectedly, from BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who said, “There is no big thing in that. Who doesn’t know their election symbol? Everybody takes his hand with him, will you cut it off? I feel that a party that is winning with such a big margin should not (bother about) these small things.”

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