Retired officials, veterans and academics remind Election Commission of transgressions
Over 145 retired civil
service officers, military veterans and renowned academics have come together
to question the “procrastination, silence and inaction” that characterised the
Election Commission’s response to issues thrown up during the recent general
election.
“The 2019 General
Elections appear to have been one of the least free and fair elections that the
country has had in the past three decades or so,” 64 former IAS, IFS, IPS and
IRS officers said in an open letter to the Election Commission. The letter has
been endorsed by 83 veterans and academics.
In a comprehensive
exercise unmatched in recent memory, the letter painstakingly lists almost
every doubt that had been cast on the election process over the past few
months.
The letter refers to
media reports and accepts “that not every media report is accurate or true” but
points out that “the ECI’s non-rebuttal of an untrue or inaccurate story leaves
the public to draw its own conclusion: that the ECI has no valid explanation to
offer”. The letter, which came
a day ahead of an Opposition-initiated short-duration discussion in the Rajya
Sabha on electoral reforms, concludes: “Viewed in totality, there is no doubt
that the mandate of 2019 has been thrown into serious doubt. The concerns
raised are too central to the well-being of our democracy for the ECI (Election
Commission of India) to leave unexplained.
“In the interests of
ensuring that this never happens again, the ECI needs to pro-actively issue
public clarifications in respect of each of these reported irregularities, and
put in place steps to prevent such incidents from occurring in future. This is
essential to restore the people’s faith in our electoral process.” At one point, the
letter quotes an article by an academic to say “it is not our job as citizens
to offer proof of wrong-doing of the highest institutions of the land, when
these institutions function in so opaque a manner. It is our job to raise
questions about visible anomalies. It is the responsibility of the Election
Commission to explain the anomalies”.
The open letter
accomplishes another unsung task in an amnesiac age: it has curated the
transgressions and misgivings that have been whitewashed in an avalanche of
triumphalism.
The following edited
excerpts list the key issues the letter seeks to raise:
