On Friday, Congress criticised the Election Commission (EC) after it rejected allegations of irregularities in the Haryana assembly polls.
If the poll panel's goal is to "strip itself of the last vestiges of neutrality", then it is doing a "remarkable job" at creating that impression.
Congress slammed EC’s response over the concerns raised by the party regarding the Haryana assembly polls.
In a letter to EC, the party said, "We have carefully studied your response to our complaints. Not surprisingly, the ECI has given a clean chit to itself. We would normally have let it be at that. However, the tone and tenor of the ECI's response, the language used, and the allegations made against the INC compel us to submit the counter-response."
The letter was signed by nine senior Congress leaders, including Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, the party's general secretary in charge of communications.
The Congress leaders also alleged that every reply from the EC now seems to be laced with ad hominem attacks on either individual leaders or the party itself.
"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 party said in its letter to the EC.
In a strongly-worded letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the poll panel had said such "frivolous and unfounded" doubts have the potential of creating "turbulence" when crucial steps like polling and counting are in live play.
In the recent Haryana assembly elections, BJP retained power by winning 48 of the 90 seats with the Congress bagging 37 seats, INLD two and Independents three seats.
