PM should apologise to poll panel: Congress

The Congress Thursday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's apology for misleading the Election Commission and people over a land deal involving Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra.

Modi, at a poll rally in Haryana Monday, referred to a media report and urged the poll panel to take "appropriate action" over the Haryana government's violation of the pre-poll Model Code of Conduct by giving nod to a controversial land deal between Vadra and real estate giant DLF.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) subsequently moved the Election Commission on the issue.

However, the poll panel Wednesday rejected the complaint, saying there did not seem to be any violation of the Model Code of Conduct by the Haryana government.

Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed Thursday accused Modi of trying to "hoodwink" the poll panel.

"Now, it is beyond doubt that our Prime Minister was not only trying to hoodwink people of Haryana but also the Election Commission," he said. "Keeping the high moral ground he preaches, he (Modi) should apologise to the Election Commission."

The BJP, however, charged the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government with not presenting full facts of the case before the poll panel.

Union Law Minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said: "A legitimate conclusion can be drawn that perhaps they have not disclosed all the facts to the Election Commission."

Prasad said the Haryana government "knew that they are losing" the assembly polls and tried to validate the land deal.

"But truth has a very uncanny habit of appearing and reappearing at times with conclusive evidence," he said.

The state goes to polls Oct 15.