124 former civil servants defend Election Commission in open letter
An open letter from 124 retired civil servants backs the Election Commission and electoral-roll revision, urging evidence for claims of election fraud.
Retired officers enter the electoral debate
A group of 124 former civil servants has issued an open letter supporting the Election Commission of India and its Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. NDTV reported that the writers challenged allegations of election fraud and argued that such accusations needed credible evidence.
Addressed to Indian citizens, the letter presented the retired officers’ defence of electoral administration during a widening political dispute. The writers described experience organising elections, preparing voter lists and securing the storage of electronic voting machines. They also stated that they belonged to no party. That declaration represents their own stated position.
'Suspicion Is Not Proof': 124 Ex-Bureaucrats Defend Election CommissionSignatories cite past elections
The Economic Times, reporting with PTI inputs, named former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal among the signatories. It also listed retired officers R D Kapur, Samirendra Chatterjee, Gopal Krishna, Vivek Bhardwaj and Navneet Sehgal.
The letter pointed to the 2025 Bihar Assembly election, claiming that it required no re-polling and recorded the state’s highest turnout since 1951. Those comparisons were part of the signatories’ argument for trusting the process. They further noted that the BJP had lost state elections and its parliamentary majority in 2024 under the same Election Commission.
124 former IAS, IFS officers write open letter to citizens, defending EC, SIR amid CJP protestSafeguards form the letter’s central argument
According to NDTV’s account, the retired officials highlighted polling agents’ oversight, the sealing of voting machines, monitoring of strong rooms and checks involving paper slips. They argued that these overlapping procedures made manipulation difficult and that unsupported accusations could damage public confidence.
The intervention adds a public defence of the commission to the dispute over electoral-roll revision. The Economic Times placed the letter alongside protests by CJP supporters and opposition parties seeking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. The letter sets out the signatories’ response to that campaign; its arguments remain attributed claims.
'Suspicion Is Not Proof': 124 Ex-Bureaucrats Defend Election Commission124 former IAS, IFS officers write open letter to citizens, defending EC, SIR amid CJP protest