'EC at centre of assault': 42 ex-judges defend India's poll process in open letter amid protest against Gyanesh Kumar
Here's the latest protest news from across India:
Forty-two former judges and retired veterans of constitutional office have expressed concern over what they described as a sustained campaign against the Election Commission of India, the judiciary and other constitutional institutions.
Adding to this, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi stops Delhi Police from detaining Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others during the INDIA bloc MPs' protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar near Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi. (AICC/ANI Photo) In an open letter, the signatories shared they had no political brief and were speaking out because “silence is no longer a neutral choice”. They alleged that constitutional bodies were facing attacks driven by political interests and warned of the consequences of undermining public trust in the country’s democratic institutions. "Our concern is grave. India's constitutional bodies are under sustained attack. The Election Commission of India stands at the centre of this assault," the letter read.
Meanwhile, The former judges questioned allegations of “vote theft” made without supporting evidence and objected to constitutional authorities being publicly described as “thieves”, “puppets” and “compromised”.
Notably, “Criticism of institutions is a democratic right. Denigration is not,” the letter states.
As per the latest buzz, They also shared election officials had been publicly named and warned of reprisals if there was a change in government, while alleging that no court had found the charges against constitutional authorities to be proven.
In further updates, The signatories strongly defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, describing it as part of the Election Commission’s constitutional mandate to maintain accurate voter lists.
On top of that, The letter shared Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 empowers the Commission to revise electoral rolls at any time. It also noted that intensive revisions had been conducted repeatedly since the first general elections.
“The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is part of that very design. Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 empowers the Commission to revise the rolls at any time. Intensive revisions have been carried out repeatedly since the first general elections. The last SIR was completed about two decades back. No one called those revisions a conspiracy,” the letter read.
Source: Hindustan Times