Election Commission warns Suvendu Adhikari for March 29 speech

Suvendu Adhikari -- Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's bitter rival in Nandigram -- was let off with a light warning by the Election Commission today. The decision coincided with the Commission's 24-hour campaigning ban on the Chief Minister -- a day she spent in a unique, solo protest at the foot of a Gandhi statue in the heart of Kolkata.

The complaint against Mr Adhikari -- an aide of Mamata Banerjee who joined the BJP in December -- was regarding his "mini Pakistan" remark about his former boss.

"You are not giving votes to the Begum," he had told the crowd at a recent election rally in Nandigram, referring to the Trinamool chief whom he has repeatedly accused of appeasing the minorities.