'Irresponsible, unfounded, malafide narratives': EC rejects Congress's 'slow' update of results charge for Haryana polls

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India has "unequivocally" rejected the allegations levelled by Congress of "inordinate delay" in updating the Haryana Assembly election results on its official website.
"In view of the above, I am directed to convey that the Commission unequivocally rejects your attempt to surreptitiously give credence to irresponsible, unfounded and uncorroborated malafide narratives," the ECI said.
Referring to a similar "ill founded" concern raised by the Congress during the counting of votes of General Elections 2024, the poll body said, "The Cornmission categorically responded that counting of votes is being carried out as per Rule 60 of Conduct of Election Rules at the designated counting ceutres and by the designated authorities following the Statutory and Regulatory regime."
The body pointed out that the complaint raised by Congress's national spokesperson Jairam Ramesh did not "bring out any contrary facts as to the delay at any of the constituencies in Haryana or J&K."
Earlier in the day, Ramesh had filed a complaint with the Election Commission regarding the purported delay in posting the Haryana assembly election results on the official website.
Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh sent a letter to the commission, claiming there has been an "inordinate and unacceptable delay" in updating the election trends.
"As you can imagine this allows bad faith actors to spin narratives that undermine the process. You can see examples of it already playing out on social media. Our fear is also that such narratives can then be used by these mala fide actors to influence processes where counting is still underway i.e. in most of the counting centres. We request you to issue immediate directions to your officials to update the website with true and accurate figures so that false news and malicious narratives can be countered immediately," he said.
Trends indicate a solid majority for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Haryana assembly elections. Meanwhile, the Congress and National Conference alliance is holding its lead in Jammu and Kashmir.