87 ex-civil servants write to EC: Take control of central govt machinery to ensure free & fair polls

87 ex-civil servants write to EC: Take control of central govt machinery to ensure free & fair polls

New Delhi: A group of 87 retired civil servants, who served in both state and central governments, Thursday penned a strongly worded letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to voice concerns about challenges to a level playing field ahead of the general election. Signatories include former IAS, IPS, IFS and IFoS officers.

While emphasising their non-affiliation with any political party and their commitment to “ideals enshrined in the Constitution of India,” the signatories began by questioning the timing of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi liquor policy case.

“The arrest of a senior opposition political functionary at a juncture when the Lok Sabha elections had been announced and the Model Code of Conduct was in place reeks, to our mind, of deliberate, motivated executive action,” read the letter dated 11 April 2024.

The former civil servants further raised alarm over the “disturbing pattern of harassment and witch hunting of opposition parties and opposition politicians on the cusp of the general elections” which they said “calls into question the motivation of the agencies”.

They also expressed reservations about the Income Tax department’s reassessment proceedings against the Congress and notices to opposition leaders just before a general election.

“It is puzzling why the Income Tax department should reopen old assessments of the Indian National Congress, as well as those of other opposition parties, that too on the eve of a general election. Carrying out searches of the premises related to Mahua Moitra, the Trinamool Congress politician who is a candidate in the Lok Sabha elections, at this juncture, and issuing notices to other opposition candidates, again defies explanation.”

It added, “given the tardy record of the central law enforcement agencies in completing investigations and filing charge sheets, the undue zeal in selectively pursuing these cases gives rise to the suspicion that the motivation goes beyond a mere desire to enforce justice”.

The signatories also stated that they were deeply disturbed by the “failure of the ECI” to take immediate action in this matter. “The pattern of events over the past month calls for firm action from the ECI to quell rising public suspicion that the ECI is sitting silent while a politics of vendetta is being practised to deny opposition parties the freedom to actively participate in the election process,” read the letter.

“Our group had pointed out many such instances in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections but, apart from minor slaps on the wrist, the ECI failed to enforce its writ on repeated offenders. In the current elections as well, infractions of the Model Code of Conduct by no less a personage than the Prime Minister have not been acted upon by the ECI even after these were brought to its notice,” it added.

The signatories, while criticising the poll panel, said it “exhibited a strange diffidence, especially in dealing with actions that impact the conduct of free and fair elections”.

They called on the EC to exercise its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution to bring the “activities of the machinery at the Central government level, especially the law enforcement agencies” under its control, as is the case with machinery at the state government level during the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

In conclusion, the signatories implored the ECI to uphold the “shining legacy bequeathed by a line of eminent persons who have led the ECI in the past seven decades”. They added that the “nation looks to you (ECI) to act with firmness and determination to maintain the reputation and sanctity of the world’s largest electoral exercise”.

Among the signatories were former foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon, former High Commissioner to the UK Shiv Shankar Mukherjee,  former Director General of Police, Punjab, Julio Ribeiro, former Deputy National Security Adviser Vijaya Latha Reddy, former health secretary K. Sujatha Rao, former OSD on Kashmir, PMO, A.S. Dulat, former Delhi LG Najeeb Jung and former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)