Congress' lies exposed: Nayab Saini on EC response to rigging allegations

Chandigarh: The Congress' lies have been exposed and its attempts to undermine the election process thwarted, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said here on Wednesday, a day after the Election Commission rejected allegations of rigging in the Haryana Assembly polls.

The EC on Tuesday rejected Congress' allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the polls, saying the party was raising "the smoke of a generic doubt" like it did in the past.

"...The Hon'ble Election Commission has exposed that lie of Congress," Saini told reporters on the sidelines of the 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas' oath-taking ceremony at the Haryana Civil Secretariat.

Saini said that in the run-up to the polls he maintained that the Congress was not visible anywhere on the ground, even though its leaders claimed there was a "Congress wave".

"They looted the country, indulged in corruption, and scams in the country, they made people stand in queues for days just to get a gas cylinder," he said.

On Tuesday, in a strongly-worded letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the poll panel said such "frivolous and unfounded" doubts have the potential of creating "turbulence" when crucial steps like polling and counting are in live play and political parties' anxiousness is peaking.

The BJP retained power in Haryana winning 48 of the 90 seats in the October 5 assembly elections with the Congress bagging 37, INLD two, and Independents three seats.

According to the eight-page letter, Congress had sought clarification on the "perceived lack of clarity" on the display of 99 per cent battery status on the control unit of electronic voting machines during counting in some polling stations of 26 assembly seats in Haryana.

Meanwhile, Saini at the secretariat hailed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the eve of his birth anniversary as the leader who worked for the unity and integrity of the country.

The CM said Patel's contribution to integrating more than 560 princely states into the Indian Union was immense.

Saini administered an oath to the gathering, urging it to uphold the "unity, integrity, and security" of the nation and extended his Diwali greetings.

"I also pray to Lord Shri Ram that our Haryana remains happy, moves forward strongly and prospers," he said.