A collective of more than 200 retired judges, senior bureaucrats, former military officers and diplomats has criticised the Congress and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi for alleging large-scale irregularities by the Election Commission (EC) as part of the party’s “vote chori” campaign. The group released an open letter calling the accusations “an attempt to cloak political frustration as an institutional crisis.”
The statement has 272 signatories, including 16 former judges, 123 retired civil servants, 133 ex-Army officers and 14 former ambassadors.
In the letter, the group says India’s democratic institutions are under attack from “venomous rhetoric” rather than force. “Some political leaders, instead of presenting credible policy alternatives, are indulging in provocative and unverified claims as part of a theatrical political strategy,” it notes.
The signatories accuse opposition leaders of previously targeting the armed forces, judiciary, Parliament, and constitutional authorities and now directing “systematic and conspiratorial attacks” at the Election Commission.
Letter Calls Out Rahul Gandhi
The letter specifically calls out Rahul Gandhi for repeatedly claiming that the EC has been complicit in vote theft. It terms his comments, including his “atom bomb” remark, as “unbelievably uncouth rhetoric”. The statement also points out that Gandhi has not filed a formal complaint or a sworn affidavit to substantiate his claims, thereby avoiding accountability for the allegations.
The letter further criticises other Congress leaders, opposition parties, left-leaning NGOs, academics and activists who have accused the EC of acting like the “B-team of the BJP”. Such criticism, it says, “collapses under scrutiny”, arguing that the Commission has already made its State-wise Electoral Roll (SIR) methodology public, undergone court-approved verification processes, removed ineligible names, and added new eligible voters.
“These allegations appear to be an effort to turn political disappointment into a narrative of institutional breakdown,” the statement concludes.
The Congress has yet not responded to the letter.
