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Updated: Mar 28, 2019 11:33 IST

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has joined the opposition chorus against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on the launch of an anti-satellite missile as she criticised him for violating the model code of conduct amid an ongoing election campaign.

Prime Minister Modi had on Wednesday spoken about the successful anti-satellite missile test, which was led by the DRDO, that had propelled India in the elite space club that comprised the US, Russia and China.

The Election Commission has said it will examine if the Prime Minister’s televised address on the launch of anti-satellite missile violates the model code of conduct.

Sources in the poll body had initially indicated that the government did not need to take permission to make security-related announcements. But the commission appeared to take a closer look at the speech after the opposition parties reacted to it .

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“The experiences in the past prove that the leaders of the BJP are notorious and adept at using new ways to misuse the model code of conduct. And, PM Modi addressed the country without seeking any prior permission even though there was no emergency. The country waited with bated breath. The commission must be strict,” Mayawati tweeted in Hindi.

“It’s a good thing that the Election Commission has formed a committee to probe PM Modi’s speech but the moot question remains that how could the PM address the country without its prior permission when there was no emergency-like situation. This is a misuse of the government apparatus for electoral gain,” she wrote.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury was among the first to lodge a formal complaint against PM Modi’s address after which West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also tweeted her protest and announced that she will file a formal complaint with the Election Commission.