The Congress on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of delivering a hate speech in poll-bound Rajasthan and urged the Election Commission to take action against him for asking voters to press the “lotus” button as if they’re awarding the “death sentence” to the Congress.

“You have got an opportunity to punish them. Press the button with the lotus symbol so that their punishment is ensured. Jaise unhe phansi de rahe ho, aise kamal ke nishaan pe batan dabao (Press the button with the lotus symbol as if you are sentencing them to death),” Modi told an election rally in Barmer, Rajasthan.

“Jab nash manuj pe chhata hai, pahle vivek marr jata hai (sanity deserts man before destruction),” Modi said in a post in Hindi on X.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh cited the Prime Minister’s speech in Barmer and said the people of the state would respond to such “arrogance”.

“Prime Minister Modi’s hatred towards Congress leaders can be easily gauged from his statement. How can a person holding a responsible position like the Prime Minister talk about hanging people through voting? The Prime Minister is strangling democracy,” Ramesh alleged.

“This is a clear example of hate speech. If the Election Commission is serious about fair and free elections, it should take immediate cognisance of this and take strict action,” the Congress leader added. “The public will definitely respond to this arrogance of Prime Minister Modi in the elections.”

Modi on Wednesday attacked the ruling Congress in Rajasthan over corruption and “appeasement policies” and claimed the morale of terrorists and rioters soars wherever the party is in power, as he urged voters to punish the Congress in the upcoming Assembly elections.