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.
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‘System can’t be honest when you win and rigged when you lose’: 124 ex-bureaucrats defend Election Commission, SIR exercise
Defending SIR, the ex-civil servants described it as a necessary process to maintain accurate electoral rolls by identifying deceased voters, duplicate entries
124 ex-bureaucrats defend EC, SIR, say system can't be rigged only when you lose
A group of 124 former IAS, IFS and allied services officers has issued an open letter defending the Election Commission and its voter-roll revision. They said doubts over elections must rest on evidence, citing safeguards, roll clean-up and court scrutiny.
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."
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