A BJP delegation on Friday met the Election Commission and requested the poll panel to register a criminal case against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and bar him from campaign in the Karnataka assembly polls over his "poisonous snake" barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Union minister Bhupender Yadav, who led the BJP delegation, told reporters that Kharge's comment was not merely a slip of the tongue but part of the Congress' "hate politics".

BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh said Kharge is a "habitual offender".

Yadav said the Congress has a history of launching personal attacks on Modi.

The BJP has demanded registration of an FIR under IPC Sections 499 and 500, which deal with defamation, and Section 504, which deals with the offence of deliberate insults and provocation.

The delegation also included BJP chief spokesperson Anil Baluni and party leader Om Pathak.

Addressing a campaign rally for the May 10 Karnataka assembly polls, Kharge likened Modi to a poisonous snake. As a row erupted, he later sought to clarify that his remarks were not aimed at the prime minister but at the ruling BJP.

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