'Condescending Tone, No Choice But Legal Action': Congress After Election Commission Calls Its Haryana Election Allegations 'Baseless'

The Congress party has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of attacking its leaders and the party and using a 'condescending' tone in the poll panel's response letter on the Haryana assembly elections.

Alleging that the ECI is stripping itself of the 'last vestiges of neutrality,' Congress threatened to use legal recourse to expunge 'such remarks', referring to the Madras High Court's castigation of ECI in 2021.

This comes a few days after the ECI firmly rejected the Congress party's allegations of irregularities in the recent Haryana assembly elections, calling the claims of tempering "baseless."

In its response, Congress stated it was unsurprised by the ECI giving 'clean chit to itself'. However, the party felt compelled to reply due to the "tone and tenor" of the response, along with the language used and accusations.

The Congress remarked that the ECI highlighted the "exceptional" nature of engaging with the party on these issues, suggesting that the poll body seemed to have overlooked its responsibility to do so.

"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," the letter said.

The Congress claimed that the party's concerns regarding the Haryana election process were detailed and specific, but the ECI's response was overly general and seemed aimed at downplaying both the complaints and those who raised them.