EC’s goal is to strip itself of the last vestiges of neutrality: Congress slams poll body

New Delhi, Nov 1 2024-

After the Election Commission of India (ECI) rejected the Congress’ allegations of irregularities in the recent Haryana Assembly elections, calling the claims of EVM tampering “baseless”, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday came up with the grand old party’s counter-response to the poll body alleging that its goal is to strip itself of the last vestiges of neutrality.

Sharing a letter written by the party on X, Ramesh said: “The ECI gave a non-reply to Congress’ specific complaints in 20 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in Haryana. Here is the INC’s response to this non-reply.”

Ramesh said that the ECI has not replied to its specific problem, rather it has given a generic answer to its complaints.

“The answer given to the question of the machines’ fluctuating batteries seeks to confuse rather than clarify. At any rate, the ECI reply is nothing more than a standard and generic set of bullets on how the machines function rather than a specific clarification on specific complaints. While our complaints were specific, the ECI response is generic and focused on diminishing the complaints and the petitioners,” Ramesh said in a post on X on Friday.

The poll body had also asked Congress and other political parties to avoid raising “frivolous and unfounded doubts”.

On this, the letter said: “If we were bad faith actors, then we would never engage with the ECI to begin with. We would not painstakingly document our grievances and present them with legal precedents and arguments. Instead, we would focus on naming and shaming the Commission with examples from the ECI’s own recent history which do not shroud it with glory… We would point out how the ECI never published a dissent note, actively suppressing it instead, by a former Commissioner in this regard. We would point out that the ECI has almost always fought any move for transparency and an increase in VVPAT verification numbers, with the same having to be ordered by the Supreme Court. We challenge the ECI to fact-check the above since it finds the INC’s misgivings to be based on phantoms.”

The letter further said: “The 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. This can be verified from the INC’s representations which are in the public domain. 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.”

The Congress’ response came three days after the Election Commission rejected allegations levelled by it over irregularities in the Haryana Assembly polls. The poll body in its reply had said the party was raising “the smoke of a generic doubt” about the credibility of an entire electoral outcome like it did in the past. (Agency)