As many as 272 prominent citizens, including several former judges, bureaucrats and armed forces officers, wrote an open letter on Tuesday. The letter condemned Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, for his alleged attempts to smear constitutional bodies such as the Election Commission of India.
The opposition parties, led by Congress MP Rahul, have accused the Election Commission of conniving with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to “steal” votes in several states and to facilitate it through Special Intensive Review (SIR).
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Although the letter did not mention him by name, he directly named the Congress and other political parties.
Sixteen former judges, 123 retired bureaucrats and 133 retired armed forces officers called out Rahul Gandhi for his “caustic allegation” of “vote-stealing” against the Election Commission and also criticized the “frenzied rhetoric of the opposition against Special Intensive Revision (SIR)”.
“Provocative but baseless accusation”
In a letter titled “Attack on National Constitutional Bodies”, former government officials expressed serious concern that “India’s democracy is under attack not by force but by a rising tide of venomous rhetoric directed at its core institutions”.
The letter highlighted that some political leaders “instead of offering real political alternatives resort to provocative but baseless accusations in their theatrical political strategy”.
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The letter also accused these leaders of trying to tarnish the Indian armed forces “by impugning its valor and achievements and the judiciary by impugning its justice, Parliament and its constitutional functionaries”.
“Now it is the Election Commission of India’s turn to face the systematic and conspiratorial attacks on its integrity and reputation,” the letter said.
Rahul Gandhi’s ‘incredibly uncouth rhetoric’
The letter, from 272 signatories, said Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, “has repeatedly attacked the Election Commission and claimed to have open and shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in vote-stealing and claimed to have 100% proof”.
“Using the incredibly crude rhetoric that what he found is an atomic bomb and when it explodes the EC will have nowhere to hide,” the letter said.
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The letter said Gandhi “also threatened that whoever in the Election Commission is involved in this exercise, from top to bottom, will not spare them”.
“According to him (Gandhi), the ECI is indulging in treason. He has gone on record threatening to persecute the CEC/EC if they retire,” the signatories wrote.
Indian democracy is under attack, not by force, but by a rising tide of venomous rhetoric directed against its basic institutions.”
The letter further states that despite “such scathing allegations”, Gandhi did not file any formal complaint along with the prescribed affidavit “to escape the responsibility of making baseless allegations and threatening public servants in the discharge of their duties”.
Former judges and officials slam Oppa for SIR: “Emotionally strong but . . .”
The letter condemned several political leaders for saying that the Election Commission had “descended into utter shamelessness by behaving like the ‘B-Team of the BJP’.”
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It claimed that several senior leaders of the Congress and other political parties, “left-wing NGOs, ideologically biased scholars and a few attention-seekers” joined in with similarly frenzied rhetoric against the SIR.
The signatories said such “fiery rhetoric can be emotionally powerful – but crumbles under scrutiny as ECI has publicly shared its SIR methodology, overseen verification through judicial means, removed ineligible names in compliance and added new eligible voters”.
“Impotent Rage”
Former judges, armed forces officers and bureaucrats criticized the “impotent rage” of the opposition, which they said indicated “deep anger born of repeated electoral failures and frustration with no concrete plan to reconnect with the people”.
They were referring to the opposition’s defeat in the recently concluded Bihar Assembly elections and its previous debacle in Haryana and Maharashtra.
“Theatre replaces analysis. Public spectacle takes the place of public service.”
They criticized the “selective outrage” of the opposition, saying: “The irony is cruel: when election results are favorable in certain states where governments led by opposition political parties form governments, criticism of the Election Commission disappears. When they are unfavorable in some states, the Commission becomes the villain in every narrative.”
Appeal to civil society, citizens
In the letter, the former judges and bureaucrats appealed to civil society and citizens of India to stand firm with the Election Commission – not out of flattery, but out of conviction.”
They said: “Society should demand that political actors stop undermining this vital institution with baseless accusations and theatrical condemnations. Instead, they should offer the public serious political alternatives, meaningful reform ideas and national visions rooted in reality.”
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They also urged the Election Commission to continue its journey of transparency and rigor. “Release complete data, defend through legal channels if necessary and reject politics disguised as victimhood. We call on political leaders to respect the constitutional process, to compete not through baseless accusations but through policy formulation, and to accept democratic verdicts with grace,” the letter said.
