CM misunderstood decision: EC hits where it hurts

Pained and anguished’’ over Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s stinging remarks against CEC T.S. Krishnamurthy, the Commission today said the singling out of one of its members amounted to ‘‘character assassination’’.

‘‘Apart from the fact that such remarks bring down a constitutional authority in public estimation, the same show the lack of understanding of the Commission’s functioning,’’ a statement from the Commission said today. ‘‘The allegation made against the Commission as also against its officers are categorically dismissed as beneath contempt,” the note said.

Taking an indirect dig at Chautala, it said that ‘‘some misunderstanding’’ has been created in the minds of the people on account of the decision taken by the Commission to advance the dates of the counting of votes.

On the issue of postal ballots, EC officials said, ‘‘The Commission has already directed the returning officers to count all postal ballots by 4 pm on February 23.’’