Congress threatens legal action over Election Commission's tone in Haryana poll dispute

The Congress party has issued a strong response to the Election Commission of India (ECI) following a recent exchange regarding alleged irregularities in the Haryana Assembly elections.

Criticizing the ECI’s tone, the Congress accused the poll body of issuing statements that attack the party and its leaders and warned of potential legal action if this continues.

In a letter submitted on Friday, senior Congress leaders, including KC Venugopal, Ashok Gehlot, and Ajay Maken, conveyed their concerns over what they described as “condescending” language in the ECI's responses. They stated that Congress’s complaints respect the ECI’s office and focus solely on election issues, whereas the ECI’s replies appear to contain personal criticisms.

Earlier in the week, the ECI had dismissed Congress’s claims of electoral misconduct in Haryana, describing them as “baseless” and cautioning the party against what it termed “unfounded and sensational” complaints. The ECI also advised Congress to curb any “tendency of frivolous complaints” and maintained that the Haryana electoral process was conducted fairly.

In its reply, Congress expressed frustration that the ECI gave itself a clean chit but also took issue with the tone of the Commission’s response, claiming it demonstrated a lack of impartiality. “If the ECI’s goal is to shed any remaining perception of neutrality, it is doing an outstanding job of that,” Congress stated in the letter, pointing out that their own communications had been respectful toward the ECI’s office and its commissioners.

Congress further argued that recent ECI communications had been “laced with ad-hominem attacks” against both party leaders and the organization, suggesting that this behavior was unbefitting of a neutral electoral body. The party noted that while judicial decisions may disagree, judges do not vilify those bringing the issues forward.

In a pointed remark, Congress referred to the Madras High Court’s rebuke of the ECI in 2021, when it was held partly responsible for a Covid-19 surge after allowing large political rallies. The Congress warned that if such remarks from the ECI continue, they would be forced to pursue legal measures to expunge these statements.