The Congress on Monday criticised the Election Commission for cancelling a scheduled appointment, which the party had sought to urge the panel to stop the “misuse” of the Enforcement Directorate by the BJP-led Union government during the Assembly elections. The poll panel had agreed to meet the Congress delegation on Monday but has now postponed it to a later date, citing its busy schedule.
The panel has said that it will be able to meet the Congress leaders only on November 8 or 9, which the Congress spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi said would defeat the purpose since polling for the first 20 Assembly segments in Chhattisgarh would have already completed.
The delegation that was scheduled to meet the EC, comprising Abhishek M. Singhvi, Pramod Tiwari, Salman Khurshid and Ranjeet Ranjan, addressed a press conference, demanding that the panel show better speed in tackling their complaint.
ED’s continued raids in election-bound States where model code of conduct is in force is problematic and disturbs the level playing field that is necessary for free and fair elections, the party said.=
“It is an attempt to obstruct free and fair elections; it is an attempt to muddy the field because the BJP knows that they are losing badly,” Mr. Singhvi said.
