Ex-IAS, IFS officers write open letter amid protest

A group of 124 former IAS, IFS and allied services' officers penned an open letter to Indian citizens, strongly defending the Election Commission (EC) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the country.

The officials also questioned the allegations of vote rigging without credible evidence.

The letter comes amid nationwide protests held by Cockroach Janata Party supporters and Opposition party headers against SIR, demanding resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

In the open letter accessed by PTI, the officers highlighted India's transformation from an era of booth capturing, ballot-box stuffing and poll violence, adding that today's electoral system has multiple layers of checks and safeguards, including polling agents, EVM sealing, strong-room security and VVPAT verification.

The letter cited last year's Bihar Assembly polls, which recorded no re-polling and the highest voter turnout since 1951.

"A system cannot be honest when you win and rigged when you lose," the letter said, further highlighting that under the same EC, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre lost several state polls as well as its parliamentary majority in 2024.

Major signatories to the letter include former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal and former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers R D Kapur, Samirendra Chatterjee, Gopal Krishna, Vivek Bhardwaj and Navneet Sehgal.

The administration has taken several steps like barricading of roads leading to New Delhi, stopping or diverting vehicles, and shutting several metro stations to prevent prople from reaching the protest site at Jantar Mantar.