New Delhi, May 3 (PTI) Union minister Mahesh Sharma was Friday issued a show-cause notice by the Election Commission for allegedly referring to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as "pappu" and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as "pappu ki pappi".

While giving the BJP MP 24 hours to respond, the commission reminded him of a provision in the Model Code of Conduct which states that politicians must refrain from making remarks on private lives of rivals.

A portion of the remark was reproduced in the notice. Sharma had allegedly said on March 19 in Sikandrabad, "Now that Pappu says that he wants to be the prime minister. Now, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Pappu ki pappi have also come...whether that Priyanka was not the daughter of of the country ... what new has she brought..."

The Congress had moved the Election Commission with a complaint against Sharma.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)