124 former IAS and IFS officers back Election Commission, SIR; reject 'rigged' claims

A group of 124 former IAS, IFS, and allied services officers has issued a strong open letter to Indian citizens, defending the Election Commission (EC) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls while criticizing allegations of vote rigging made without credible evidence.

The signatories, who include former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal and former IAS officers R D Kapur, Samirendra Chatterjee, Gopal Krishna, Vivek Bhardwaj, and Navneet Sehgal, emphasise that today's electoral system incorporates multi-layered safeguards — such as polling agent oversight, EVM sealing, strong-room security, and VVPAT verification.

Drawing a sharp contrast with past eras characterised by booth capturing, ballot-box stuffing, and violence, the letter highlights the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. According to the officers, the polls recorded no re-polling for the first time in history, the highest voter turnout since 1951, and record participation by women.

Addressing critics of the electoral process, the letter states, "A system cannot be honest when you win and rigged when you lose." It points out that under the current Election Commission, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost multiple state elections — including in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir — as well as its parliamentary majority in 2024.

The former bureaucrats also defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, noting it was the first intensive revision since 2003 and successfully identified roughly 22 million dead electors, 7 million duplicate entries, and millions of migrated individuals, while adding about 2.15 million new voters.

They noted that the Supreme Court upheld the Commission's authority under Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, ensuring rigorous oversight and safeguards for voters.

Concluding the letter, the signatories stressed that questioning is a citizen's right, but proving allegations is the accuser's duty, warning that repetitive, unproven claims of vote rigging undermine democratic trust.