AMBALA/YAMUNANAGAR: Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda on Monday accused Election Commission of India’s (ECI) chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of undermining democracy and demanded his immediate resignation, legal action against him and a review of all “suspicious” decisions and actions taken during his tenure.Addressing a Congress workers’ conference in Yamunanagar and Ambala district, Hooda alleged that the ECI had been functioning like the BJP’s IT cell and claimed that irregularities had taken place in elections through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and other means.He said two of the three election commissioners had allegedly written 14 letters over 10 months raising concerns about irregularities. Hooda claimed that their disclosures had exposed a “major scam” involving manipulation of votes through a centralised database in Delhi.Hooda demanded that elections be held afresh in states where polling had allegedly been affected.He also called for the Haryana Assembly to be dissolved and fresh elections held, warning that otherwise public confidence in the electoral system would erode.He alleged that the BJP formed the government in Haryana with a vote margin of only about half a percentage point through electoral malpractice.Referring to the 2024 Haryana Assembly election, Hooda claimed that Congress was leading in 76 constituencies on postal ballots, but that the results changed after the electronic voting machine votes were counted.He also questioned the difference between the voting percentage announced by the Election Commission on October 5 and the figure used on October 8, asking where the additional seven percentage points of votes had come from.These claims were presented by Hooda as evidence of electoral irregularities.Hooda further alleged that the BJP had used money power and the Election Commission to overturn the public mandate in Haryana.He said pre-election opinion polls and surveys had indicated a Congress victory, while alleging that the ruling party had used “every possible means” to retain power.Criticising the BJP government’s record in Haryana, Hooda alleged that the state had deteriorated in employment, drug abuse, migration abroad and law and order.He also alleged corruption involving BJP leaders and claimed that extortion calls were being made from jails.On agriculture, Hooda alleged that the BJP had failed to fulfil its promises on minimum support price (MSP) and timely availability of DAP fertiliser.He claimed that while the MSP for bajra was Rs 2,900 per quintal, farmers were getting around Rs 1,900 in Haryana’s mandis.He also alleged that paddy, for which an MSP of Rs 3,100 had been promised, was effectively fetching only around Rs 2,400, with further deductions of Rs 400-500.Hooda also alleged that farmers were being subjected to police action when they raised their concerns, and criticised the government over its handling of youth protests.He described the issue of electoral integrity as a broader fight to protect democracy and said the Election Commission’s decisions during the CEC’s tenure should be independently reviewed.Congress Ambala MP Varun Chaudhary, Ambala City MLA Nirmal Singh, former deputy speaker Akram Khan, former MLA Lahri Singh and several party office-bearers and local leaders attended the conference.
