In the face of strong BJP demand, the Election Commission on Sunday issued a notice to Congress president Sonia Gandhi [Images] on her "merchants of death" remarks in relation to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi [Images] even as it deferred a decision on his response to its notice.

The Commission also decided to issue a notice to Congress leader Digvijay Singh for his remarks about "existence of Hindu terrorism in Gujarat".

The commission sources said that both the Congress leaders have been asked to give their reply by Tuesday.