'Would Seek Legal Recourse': Congress's Counter-Response To Poll Body On Haryana Elections
The Congress party submitted a counter-response to the Election Commission, criticizing its "generic" dismissal of rigging complaints in the Haryana polls and stating it would pursue legal action. The party accused the ECI of condescension and bias in handling complaints.
Days after the Election Commission rejected Congress’s allegations of rigging in the Haryana Assembly polls, the party, on November 1, submitted a counter-response to the poll body, saying it would seek a “legal recourse" against the poll body. The party also described the Election Commission’s initial reply as “generic" and focused on dismissing the complaints and their petitioners. The Congress’s letter also stated the Election Commission has given a clean chit to itself.
The letter was shared by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on his official X handle, captioned, “The ECI gave a non-reply to Congress’s specific complaints in 20 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in Haryana. Here is the INC’s response to this non-reply."
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“Not surprisingly, the ECI has given a clean chit to itself. Ordinarily, we would have left it there. However, the tone and tenor of the ECI’s response, the language used, and the accusations levelled against the INC compel us to submit this counter-response," the letter read.
Criticising the “pattern" outlined by the ECI in Paragraph 8 of its reply, the Congress called it “disingenuous" and said, “The majority of issues raised concern the period between the announcement of the Model Code of Conduct and the end of the election, i.e., the date of counting."
“Grievances arise quickly, often within minutes, and sometimes only become apparent once results are declared or information from other booths can be compared. If not addressed on the ground, these issues become moot, leaving only the option of an Election Petition, which is a lengthy process that can take years to resolve," it stated.
The party added, “We approach the ECI with whatever information we possess, and the ECI, with its vast resources, examines and reviews this information to assess its accuracy. Often, the ECI finds our information correct; at other times, it does not. Yet we refrain from ‘naming and shaming’ the ECI after the election concludes."
“Second, the recent tone of the Commission’s communications to the INC is a matter that we refuse to take lightly anymore. Every reply from the ECI now seems to be laced with ad-hominem attacks on either individual leaders or the party itself. The INC’s communications confine themselves to issues and are written with a regard for the high office of the CEC and his brother Commissioners," the letter, signed by nine senior leaders including KC Venugopal, Ashok Gehlot and Ajay Maken, stated.
“However, the ECI’s reply are written in a tone that is condescending. If the current ECI’s goal is to strip itself of the last vestiges of neutrality, then it is doing a remarkable job at creating that impression. Judges who write decisions do not attack or demonise the party raising the issues. However, if the ECI persists then we shall have no choice but to seek legal recourse to expunge such remarks (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)," it added.
The Congress also claimed that, despite filing over a hundred complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the ECI has taken action on none, while holding Congress’s present and former chiefs to account for their actions or speeches.
“As mentioned, it is unsurprising that the ECI has reviewed our complaints and exonerated itself. The response on the fluctuating battery levels of the voting machines is more obfuscating than clarifying. In essence, the ECI’s reply is a standard, generic explanation of machine functionality, rather than a specific response to the particular complaints we raised. While our complaints were specific, the ECI’s response is generic and focused on dismissing the complaints and the petitioners," the Congress said.
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
On October 29, the Election Commission had categorically rejected the Congress’s allegations, including concerns about the battery levels of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), describing them as “baseless, misplaced, and devoid of facts."
Congress had claimed that their party was winning on EVMs with 60-70 per cent battery charge but was losing on those showing a 99 per cent charge.
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