Amid protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, 124 former IAS, IFS, IPS, and allied services officers have issued an open letter to the citizens of India, defending the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The signatories, including former government secretaries, ambassadors, and state chief secretaries, questioned allegations of vote rigging made without evidence.

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A Shift From Electoral Malpractice

The former officers highlighted India's transition from booth capturing, ballot-box stuffing, and poll-related violence. They said that the current electoral system relies on multi-layered security measures, including polling agents, Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) sealing protocols, strong-room security, and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) verification.

Highlighting the improvement in India's electoral process, the signatories cited the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, which recorded the highest voter turnout since 1951 without a single instance of re-polling.

The letter also pointed out that under the same Election Commission, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost state assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir, as well as its majority in the Lok Sabha in 2024.

The ex-officers wrote, "The winners raised no complaint. A system cannot be honest when you win and rigged when you lose."

Defending the Election Commission's independence, the former officers highlighted the poll body's multi-member structure and institutional safeguards.

"Questioning is every citizen's right. Proving is the accuser's duty," they stated.

SIR: A Necessary Cleanup Operation

On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the former bureaucrats described the initiative as an essential cleanup operation to sanitise voter lists and remove ineligible voters. While acknowledging that such revisions can cause some discomfort, they noted that the exercise is vital to maintain the integrity of India's democracy.

The officers highlighted data from Bihar SIR, which led to the identification of around 22 lakh deceased voters and 7 lakh duplicate entries , alongside the addition of approximately 21.5 lakh new voters.

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"An uncleaned roll does not protect the voter. It protects the fraudster," the letter read.

The letter detailed the safeguards within the SIR, such as formal notices, hearings, appellate processes, and the participation of booth-level agents from political parties. The signatories also noted that the Supreme Court of India scrutinised the process, prescribed additional safeguards, and affirmed the Commission's authority to conduct the exercise.

Concluding their message to those questioning the recent election outcomes, the former civil servants asked, "If the system you call rigged is the same one that handed you your victories, ask yourself whether it is the system you doubt, or only the result."

(With Inputs From PTI)