124 Former IAS, IFS Officers Write Open Letter to Citizens, Defending EC, SIR Amid CJP Protest
The officers said India’s voting system has multiple safeguards and cited Bihar’s 2024 Assembly polls, which had no re-polling and the highest turnout since 1951.
- On Saturday, 124 former officers from the Indian Administrative Service and IFS issued an open letter defending the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision process.
- This defense follows nationwide protests by Cockroach Janata Party supporters and Opposition leaders demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
- Signatories cited last year's Bihar Assembly polls—which recorded the highest voter turnout since 1951 with no re-polling—while noting the Bharatiya Janata Party lost state elections under the same commission.
- To prevent protests at Jantar Mantar, the administration barricaded roads leading to New Delhi, diverted traffic, and closed metro stations; authorities detained Opposition leaders including Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee.
- The officers questioned allegations of vote rigging, arguing "a system cannot be honest when you win and rigged when you lose," while highlighting safeguards including EVM sealing, strong-room security, and VVPAT verification.
27 Articles
27 Articles
124 Former Civil Servants Back Election Commission, Defend SIR, Question Vote-rigging Claims
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. As allegations of electoral irregularities continue to spark political debate, 124 former IAS, IFS and allied services officers have issued an open letter defending the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, questioning claims of vote rigging without credible evidence. India News | 124 Former Civil Servants Back Election Commission, Def…
In an open letter to the countrymen, the officers said, "We have conducted or studied Indian elections our entire lives. We prepared the rolls, trained polling parties, sealed the strong rooms, and supervised the counting. We write because the word 'rigged' is now being thrown around without proof."
124 former bureaucrats efend ECI, reject election rigging claims
A group of 124 former civil servants, diplomats and other officials has defended India’s electoral system, stating that allegations of election rigging must be supported by evidence. The signatories said repeated use of the word “rigged” without evidence undermines democratic trust and maintained that citizens have the right to question the electoral process, while the burden of proof rests with those making the allegations. In their statement, …
124 former IAS, IFS officers defend Election Commission and SIR, question allegations of vote rigging
Highlighting India's transformation from an era of booth capturing, ballot box stuffing, the officers said today's electoral system has multiple layers of checks and safeguards, including polling agents, EVM sealing, strong-room security and VVPAT verification.
Greater Kashmir
The Print124 former IAS, IFS officers write open letter to citizens, defend EC, SIR
New Delhi, Oct 10: A total of 124 former IAS, IFS and allied services' officers have issued an open letter to the citizens of India, strongly defending the Election Commission (EC) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, while questioning allegations of vote rigging without credible evidence. Highlighting India's transformation from an era of booth capturing, ballot-box stuffing and poll violence, the officers said today'…
124 former IAS, IFS officers write open letter to citizens, defending EC, SIR amid CJP protest
In an open letter, 124 former IAS and IFS officers defended the Election Commission's integrity during recent electoral processes. They emphasized the advancements in Indias electoral system that minimize fraud and errors. The letter countered allegations of vote rigging by pointing to evidence of successful elections under the current regime. Major ex-officials included Kanwal Sibal and R D Kapur, underscoring the letter's significance.
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