Ink row: Nandal defends himself; 'Vindicated', says Anand

Indicted by the Election Commission over the ink row during Rajya Sabha polls, Haryana Assembly Secretary R K Nandal today defended himself saying the election was conducted in transparent manner even as Opposition candidate R K Anand said he "stands vindicated".
In the dock after the EC recommended disciplinary action against him, Nandal, who was the Returning Officer for the polls, said, "The entire election was completed in a fair and transparent manner. An EC observer present during the poll and the entire process was videographed."
He said he was learning about the EC action through the media.
"If somebody asks me, I will submit my reply," he said.

The EC's "unprecedented" action against the officer will, however, not affect the poll result which saw BJP-supported independent candidate Subhash Chandra defeating Congress and INLD-backed R K Anand, who has welcomed the decision.
"Right from the beginning, we've been maintaining that this election was not conducted in a fair manner. It's the case where the election machinery itself has failed, then the election of the winning candidate should have been set aside," he said.

He said he had presented many evidence which "clearly pointed out that malpractices took place in these elections".
Besides recommending disciplinary action against Nandal for concealment of facts and negligence, the EC also ordered lodging of an FIR against "unknown persons".

Sources said the election issue can be settled through an election petition as the poll body has no role once the election is over.
A row had erupted after votes of 12 MLAs of Congress and allies were declared invalid for marking their preferences with a pen other than the one officially supplied, prompting the Congress to allege foul play.
The Commission held Nandal guilty of "concealment of material facts" from EC and "wilful non-compliance" of its lawful directions and said the proceedings against him should be completed within a period of six months.