New Delhi, Apr 9 (IANS): The CPI-M on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging he violated the Model Code of Conduct at a rally in Maharashtra when he asked first-time voters to dedicate their votes to the men who carried out the air strike in Pakistan's Balakot.

In a letter to the poll panel, senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Nilotpal Basu said such statements vitiated the pre-election atmosphere "which is fast degenerating towards polarisation" and thus the Election Commission must "strongly initiate" appropriate action.

"With deep anguish we are drawing your attention to the latest violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is also violating the specific direction of the Election Commission to refrain from invoking the armed forces for seeking votes," he wrote in the letter.

Modi, during a rally in Maharashtra's Latur, appealed to first-time voters to dedicate their first vote to the "brave men who carried out the airstrike in Pakistan's Balakot".

The Election Commission had last month asked all political parties not to use defence forces or their achievements as part of their election campaigning.