New Delhi, Aug 24 - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Monday appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to withdraw an advertisement issued by the railways, saying it 'alluded to the election symbol' of the rival Trinamool Congress.

'This advertisement also carries your photograph, I was aghast to see the graphics in the advertisement that are alluding to the election symbol of the Trinamool Congress,' senior CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said in a letter to Manmohan Singh. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is the Trinamool chief.

Yechury said such an advertisement 'is a brazen effort at utilising governmental funds for promoting the political interests of a particular party which happens to be a member of the ruling coalition under your leadership'.

Yechury in his letter also said the prime minister should make sure that such advertisements were withdrawn and 'necessary instructions issued to all government departments not to promote the partisan interests of any political party at the expense of public money.