'No Clarity In Response': Congress Warns Legal Action Against EC Over Haryana Result
The Congress party on Friday slammed the Election Commission (EC) over the poll body’s response to its “specific complaints” regarding the issues in over 20 assembly constituencies in the recently concluded Haryana assembly elections. The party issued a detailed response to the non-reply response by the poll body, diminishing the complaints flagged by the petitioners.
The party stated it was not surprised by the fact that the EC has given a clean chit to itself after noting that it carefully studied the poll body’s response to its complaints. The party highlighted that the answer given to the complaints regarding the machine fluctuating batteries was more confusing than clear. It emphasised that the responses were not specific to the complaints raised but were some generic bullets regarding how the system functions.
Read Also: Will There Be A Haryana Repeat For INDIA Bloc In Maharashtra?
In a statement released by the party’s secretory in charge of communication, Jairam Ramesh, it was noted that the party was forced to write the counter-response because of the tone and tenor of the reply crafted by the poll body.
Congress’ strong-worded message warned the election commission, asking if its objective is to “strip itself of the last vestiges of neutrality.”
The EC on Tuesday lambasted the Congress party for making “baseless allegations.” The poll body also said that the allegations were made when the party faced inconvenient electoral outcomes in Haryana. It further cautioned against coming up with unfounded and sensational complaints, asserting that the electoral exercises held in Haryana were flawless, terming the complaints “irresponsible” and “frivolous.” Against predictions, the grand old party had suffered unexpected defeat in Haryana assembly elections held last month. The party refused to accept the result and blamed voting machine discrepancies and other unfair practices during elections.
However, in its response letter, Congress noted that the EC has forgotten that it is a body set up under the constitution charged with the discharge of certain crucial duties, and therefore if the commission provides a hearing to a recognised national party, it is not an exception or indulgence. It was responding to the EC’s remark that the grand old party was making an exceptional indulgence with the poll body by raising its complaints on the elections.
The statement then noted that every reply from the ECI now seemed to be laced with ad-hominem attacks on either individual leaders or the party itself.
Read Also: Congress’s Haryana Result Assessment Meeting: Bhupinder Singh Hooda Skips
Congress further warned the commission that if it persists, it would have no choice other than seeking “recourse to expunge such remark (a remedy with which the ECI is familiar since it unsuccessfully sought to do the same with a High Court’s unflattering but accurate observations after Covid).”
The grand old party then highlighted that if it was a bad faith actor, it would not have engaged with the election body to raise its concern and instead would have been naming and shaming the top officials concerned.
The ECI gave a non-reply to @INCIndia‘s specific complaints in 20 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in Haryana. Here is the INC’s response to this non-reply. pic.twitter.com/dX98FkbEvU
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 1, 2024
