A group of 272 eminent citizens, including former judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, retired bureaucrats, ambassadors, senior IPS and IAS officers, and military veterans, have issued an open letter sharply criticising Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party for their “systematic and conspiratorial” attempt to tarnish the reputation of constitutional bodies like the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The signatories, among them former Supreme Court judges Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Hemant Gupta, former RAW chief Sanjeev Tripathi, several ex-DGPs, former ambassadors, former bureaucrats, as well as more than 130 retired senior officers of the armed forces, expressed “grave concern” that India’s democracy is under assault by “by a rising tide of venomous rhetoric directed toward its foundational institutions.”
The eminent citizens noted that after targeting the armed forces, the judiciary, the parliament and other constitutional functionaries, Congress party has now launched an attack on the integrity and reputation of the Election Commission of India
In the letter, the group accuses Gandhi of repeatedly alleging that the ECI is involved in “vote theft” without providing evidence or filing a formal complaint with the requisite affidavit. They cite his remarks claiming to possess “100 per cent proof” and an “atom bomb” that would expose the Commission, as well as threats issued against serving and retired officials of the poll body. Despite accusing the Commission of indulging in “treason” and open threats to the ECI officers, no formal complaint has been filed against Rahul Gandhi, the open letter lamented.
The eminent citizens also criticised senior leaders of the Congress and other opposition parties, along with “leftist NGOs” and a section of academics, for the “blistering rhetoric” against the EC’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls exercise, and for calling the ECI an ‘B-team of BJP’. They have asserted that the ECI has already shared its methodology for the SIR publicly, complied with court-sanctioned verification, removed ineligible names, and added new eligible voters. “This suggests that these accusations are an attempt to drape political frustration in the garb of institutional crisis,” the open letter states.
The signatories describe the pattern of allegations as “impotent rage” born out of “repeated electoral failure” and an absence of genuine policy alternatives. “When political leaders lose touch with the aspirations of ordinary citizens, they lash out at institutions instead of rebuilding their credibility,” the letter says sharply criticising Rahul Gandhi. They have said that the opposition leaders prefer “theatrics” and public spectacle instead of public service.
The open letter also highlights the hypocrisy and “selective outrage,” pointing out that when opposition parties win elections, there are no criticism of the Election Commission. “This selective outrage exposes opportunism, not conviction. It is a convenient deflection: to give the impression that loss is not a result of strategy, but conspiracy,” the eminent citizens note.
Invoking the legacy of former Chief Election Commissioners T.N. Seshan and N. Gopalaswami, the group laments the attempts to weaken an institution that has historically served as an impartial sentinel of democracy. The letter urges civil society to “stand firmly with the Election Commission”, and to demand that political actors stop undermining the ECI. The open letter adds that the politicians “should offer the public serious policy alternatives, meaningful reform ideas, and a national vision rooted in reality.”
The group also argues strongly for preventing non-citizens, illegal immigrants, fake voters and ineligible names from remaining on electoral rolls, saying that allowing them to influence elections is a grave threat to the sovereignty and stability of the nation. They have urged Election Commission to continue its path of transparency and rigour by publishing complete data, and also to defend themselves through legal channels when necessary.
The eminent citizens reaffirmed “unshakeable faith” in India’s democratic institutions, including the Armed Forces, the Judiciary, the Executive and specifically the ECI, and calls on political leaders to cease “baseless allegations” and engage instead through policy and democratic accountability.
The group end the letter by saying that “India’s institutions must not be reduced to political punching bags. Indian democracy is resilient — its people are wise. The time has come for leadership rooted in truth, not theatrics; in ideas, not invective; in service, not spectacle.”
The open letter has been signed by Justice S N Dhingra, Former Delhi High Court Judge, and Nirmal Kaur, IPS, Former DGP, Jharkhand. The list of 272 signatories have been attached with the letter.
The complete list of the signatories is given below:
| Sl. No. | Name | Designation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel | Former Judge, Supreme Court & Chairman, NGT |
| 2 | Justice Hemant Gupta | Former Judge, Supreme Court |
| 3 | Justice Shubro Kamal Mukherjee | Former Chief Justice, Karnataka |
| 4 | Justice S. M. Soni | Former Judge, Gujarat High Court & Lokayukta |
| 5 | Justice S. N. Dhingra | Former Judge, Delhi High Court |
| 6 | Justice K. A. Puj | Former Judge, Gujarat High Court |
| 7 | Justice R. S. Rathore | Former Judge, Rajasthan High Court |
| 8 | Justice R. K. Merathia | Former Judge, Jharkhand High Court |
| 9 | Justice P. N. Ravindran | Former Judge, Kerala High Court |
| 10 | Justice Karam Chand Puri | Former Judge, Punjab & Haryana High Court |
| 11 | Justice Devender Arora | Former Judge, Allahabad High Court |
| 12 | Justice Rajiv Lochan | Former Judge, Allahabad High Court |
| 13 | Justice K. K. Trivedi | Former Judge, MP High Court |
| 14 | Justice Rakesh Saksena | Former Judge, MP High Court |
| 15 | Justice D. K. Paliwal | Former Judge, MP High Court |
| 16 | Justice Vivek Sharma | Former Judge, Delhi High Court |
| 17 | Sanjeev Tripathi, IPS | Former RAW Chief |
| 18 | Yogesh Chander Modi, IPS | Former Director, NIA |
| 19 | R. D. Kapoor, IAS | Former Secretary, Food & Public Distribution |
| 20 | Samirendra Chatterjee, IAS | Former Secretary, Government of India |
| 21 | Gopal Krishna, IAS | Former Shipping & Transport Secretary |
| 22 | Deepak Singhal, IAS | Former Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh |
| 23 | L. V. Subrahmanyam, IAS | Former Chief Secretary, Andhra Pradesh |
| 24 | Dinesh Kumar, IAS | Former Chief Secretary, Andhra Pradesh |
| 25 | Iyer Krishna Rao, IAS | Former Chief Secretary, Andhra Pradesh |
| 26 | Bhaswati Mukherjee, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 27 | Laxmi Puri, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 28 | Prabhat Shukla, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 29 | Gauri Shankar Gupta, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 30 | Virendra Gupta, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 31 | Yogesh Gupta, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 32 | G. S. Iyer, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 33 | Ashok Kumar, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 34 | Vidya Sagar, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 35 | Ashok Sajjanhar, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 36 | J. S. Sapra, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 37 | D. N. Srivastava, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 38 | Anil Trigunayat, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 39 | Deepak Vohra, IFS | Former Ambassador |
| 40 | P. C. Dogra, IPS | Former DGP, Punjab |
| 41 | Praveen Dixit, IPS | Former DGP, Maharashtra |
| 42 | Dr P. Madhusoodanan, IPS | Former DGP, NDRF |
| 43 | B. S. Bassi, IPS | Former Delhi Police Commissioner; Former UPSC Member |
| 44 | Umesh Kumar, IPS | Former DGP, Andhra Pradesh |
| 45 | B. L. Vohra, IPS | Former DGP, Tripura & DG, SSB |
| 46 | Vikram Singh, IPS | Former DGP, Uttar Pradesh |
| 47 | Sudhir Kumar, IPS | Former Member, CVC |
| 48 | S. K. Bhardwaj, IPS | Former DGP, Bihar |
| 49 | T. P. Senkumar, IPS | Former DGP, Kerala |
| 50 | R. K. Pachnanda, IPS | Former DG, ITBP |
| 51 | Ramesh Chandra Sinha, IPS | Former DGP, Bihar |
| 52 | R. S. Dalal, IPS | Former DGP, Haryana |
| 53 | S. P. Vaid, IPS | Former DGP, Jammu & Kashmir |
| 54 | K. Rajendra Kumar, IPS | Former DGP, Jammu & Kashmir |
| 55 | Pradeep Gupta, IPS | Former DGP, Assam |
| 56 | Dr A. P. Pandey, IPS | Former DGP, Punjab |
| 57 | Anil Kumar Sharma, IPS | Former DGP, Punjab |
| 58 | R. N. Singh, IPS | Former DGP, Uttar Pradesh |
| 59 | Alok Srivastav, IPS | Former DGP, Andhra Pradesh |
| 60 | S. N. Srivastav, IPS | Former Commissioner of Police, Delhi |
| 61 | Muniswamy Mohan Raj, IPS | Former DGP, Assam |
| 62 | Nirmal Kaur, IPS | Former DGP, Jharkhand |
| 63 | Sravesh Chandra, IPS | Former DGP, West Bengal |
| 64 | Mrinal Kanti Das, IPS | Former DGP, Manipur |
| 65 | M. K. Tiwari, IPS | Former DGP |
| 66 | Bipin Bihari, IPS | Former DG, Prisons |
| 67 | Shivaji Bodkhe, IPS | Former Addl Commissioner, Mumbai |
| 68 | C. S. Khairwal, IAS | Former Chief Secretary, Puducherry |
| 69 | Nikhilesh Jha, IAS | Former Special Secretary, Government of India |
| 70 | Vinod Kr Agrawal, IAS | Former Special Chief Secretary, Telangana |
| 71 | Naveen Kumar, IAS | Retired IAS |
| 72 | Sunil Kumar Gulati, IAS | Former Special Chief Secretary, Haryana |
| 73 | Sanjay Dixit, IAS | Former Addl Chief Secretary, Rajasthan |
| 74 | N. S. Kalsi, IAS | Former Addl Chief Secretary, Punjab |
| 75 | M. L. Meena, IAS | Former Addl Chief Secretary, West Bengal |
| 76 | M. Madan Gopal, IAS | Former Addl Chief Secretary, Karnataka |
| 77 | B. R. Naidu, IAS | Former Addl Chief Secretary, Madhya Pradesh |
| 78 | Ajit Kumar Singh, IAS | Former Addl Chief Secretary, Rajasthan |
| 79 | B. H. Anil Kumar, IAS | Former Addl Chief Secretary, Karnataka |
| 80 | K. Sreedhar Rao, IAS | Former Chief Secretary, Sikkim & Member, NSAB |
| 81 | Akhil Kumar Shukla, IPS | Former DGP, Tripura |
| 82 | Harisena Verma, IPS | Former Special Secretary, IB |
| 83 | U. D. Joshi, IPS | Former Addl DGP, Maharashtra |
| 84 | Prem Kishan Jain, IPS | Former Addl DGP, Maharashtra |
| 85 | C. S. Parcha, IPS | Former Addl DGP, West Bengal |
| 86 | Upendra Baghel, IPS | Advisor, United Nations |
| 87 | Bhaskar Rao, IPS | Former Addl DGP |
| 88 | Vijay Kumar, ISS | Former DG & CEO, NSSO |
| 89 | Dr C. Umamaheswara Rao, IAS | Former Principal Secretary, Andhra Pradesh |
| 90 | Dr Vinay Sahni | Former Civil Servant |
| 91 | B. F. Patil, IAS | Former Commissioner, Textile Dept, Karnataka |
| 92 | Gopal Hosur, IPS | Former IGP, Karnataka |
| 93 | Shambu Thakur, IPS | Former IGP, Jharkhand |
| 94 | Manoj Kumar Dubey, IAS | Former IGP, CRPF |
| 95 | S. L. Gangadharappa, IAS | Former Secretary, Karnataka |
| 96 | J. B. Goyal, IAS | Former Secretary, Punjab |
| 97 | Arun Kumar, IAS | Former Secretary, Bihar |
| 98 | A. K. Monnappa, IAS | Former Secretary, Karnataka |
| 99 | Ramesh Zalki, IAS | Former Secretary, Karnataka |
| 100 | S. S. Uppal, IAS | Former Secretary, Madhya Pradesh |
| 101 | Dr Muddu Mohan, IAS | Retired IAS |
| 102 | N. Prabhakar, IAS | Retired IAS |
| 103 | K. R. Bharti, IAS | Retired IAS |
| 104 | Jagdish Patil, IAS | Retired IAS |
| 105 | Arun Kumar Bhatt, IAS | Former Secretary, Madhya Pradesh |
| 106 | Dr Surender Ghonkrokta, IAS | Former Chairman, State Food Commission, HP |
| 107 | O. P. Pathak, IAS | Retired IAS |
| 108 | R. K. Gupta, IRS | Former DG, Income Tax |
| 109 | S. S. Rana, IRS | Former Principal Chief Commissioner, Income Tax |
| 110 | Vijay Kr Sharma, IRS | Former Principal Chief Commissioner, Income Tax |
| 111 | Balakrishnan B. R. | Former Principal Chief Commissioner, Income Tax |
| 112 | Pradeep Sharma, IRS | Former Principal Commissioner, Income Tax |
| 113 | Rajeev Lakhara, IRS | Former Commissioner, Income Tax |
| 114 | Ashok Mittal, IRS | Former Commissioner, Income Tax |
| 115 | G. Bhattachharjee, IAAS | Former Deputy CAG of India |
| 116 | A. K. Malhotra, IFoS | Former PCCF, Jharkhand |
| 117 | R. N. Mehrotra, IFoS | Former PCCF, Rajasthan |
| 118 | Kishore Rao, IFoS | Former Director, UNESCO |
| 119 | Ganesh Sugur, IFoS | Former PCCF, Karnataka |
| 120 | Kishan Singh Sugara, IFoS | Former PCCF, Karnataka |
| 121 | Radha Krishan Goel, IFoS | Former Director, IGNFA |
| 122 | Pradeep Shukla, IFoS | Former PCCF, West Bengal |
| 123 | Chittaranjan Sahay, IFoS | Former PCCF, Jharkhand |
| 124 | Arun Kr Singh, IFoS | Former PCCF, Jharkhand |
| 125 | Kanwarpal, IFoS | Former PCCF |
| 126 | A. K. Gulati, IFoS | Former PCCF |
| 127 | R. M. N. Sahai, IFoS | Former PCCF |
| 128 | Devender Pandey, IFoS | Former PCCF, Arunachal Pradesh |
| 129 | B. K. Singh, IFoS | Former PCCF, Karnataka |
| 130 | Mukul Joshi, IFoS | Former PCCF |
| 131 | R. K. Mahtolia, IFoS | Former PCCF |
| 132 | Promode Kant, IFoS | Former Addl PCCF |
| 133 | O. P. Khare, IFoS | Former Addl PCCF |
| 134 | N. D. Tiwari, IFoS | Former Addl PCCF |
| 135 | B. B. Goyal, ICAS | Former Addl Chief Advisor (Cost), MoF |
| 136 | Manoj Kumar Anand, ICAS | Former Principal Advisor, MoF |
| 137 | Dinesh Singh, IDAS | Former Principal CDA |
| 138 | Ashok Gautam, IRS | Former Commissioner, Income Tax |
| 139 | Dr J. P. Prakash, IRS | Former Commissioner, Income Tax |
| 140 | Lt Gen V. K. Chaturvedi | Veteran |
| 141 | Lt Gen Arvind Sharma | Veteran |
| 142 | Lt Gen Nitin Kohli | Veteran |
| 143 | Lt Gen U. S. P. Sinha | Veteran |
| 144 | Lt Gen Narender Singh | Veteran |
| 145 | Lt Gen Mandhata Singh | Veteran |
| 146 | Lt Gen Vishwambhar Singh | Veteran |
| 147 | Lt Gen Manvender Singh | Veteran |
| 148 | Lt Gen A. K. Misra | Veteran |
| 149 | Lt Gen P. K. Rath | Veteran |
| 150 | Lt Gen Vinod Chopra | Veteran |
| 151 | Lt Gen A. K. Bakshi | Veteran |
| 152 | Lt Gen Rajinder Singh | Veteran |
| 153 | Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry | Veteran |
| 154 | Lt Gen B. S. Jaswal | Veteran |
| 155 | Lt Gen Narayan Mohanty | Veteran |
| 156 | Lt Gen S. Ravishankar | Veteran |
| 157 | Lt Gen N. K. Singh | Veteran |
| 158 | Lt Gen Inderjit Singh | Veteran |
| 159 | Lt Gen P. G. Kamath | Veteran |
| 160 | Lt Gen Sanjay Kulkarni | Veteran |
| 161 | Lt Gen A. S. Nandal | Veteran |
| 162 | Lt Gen G. S. Chandel | Veteran |
| 163 | Lt Gen Rajendra Nimbhorkar | Veteran |
| 164 | Lt Gen Ramdas Mohan | Veteran |
| 165 | Lt Gen P. K. Srivastava | Veteran |
| 166 | Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalika | Veteran |
| 167 | Lt Gen G. L. Bakshi | Veteran |
| 168 | Lt Gen Manjit Kumar | Veteran |
| 169 | Lt Gen Karan Singh Yadava | Veteran |
| 170 | Lt Gen S. N. Handa | Veteran |
| 171 | Lt Gen K. H. Singh | Veteran |
| 172 | Lt Gen C. A. Krishnan | Veteran |
| 173 | Lt Gen K. K. Agarwal | Veteran |
| 174 | Lt Gen K. S. Jamwal | Veteran |
| 175 | Lt Gen S. K. Singh | Veteran |
| 176 | Lt Gen Rakesh Kumar | Veteran |
| 177 | Lt Gen Prem P. Varma | Veteran |
| 178 | Lt Gen Ramu Pradhan | Veteran |
| 179 | Lt Gen Surendra Tanwar | Veteran |
| 180 | Lt Gen S. S. Katewa | Veteran |
| 181 | Lt Gen Harimohan Iyer | Veteran |
| 182 | Lt Gen S. S. Thakral | Veteran |
| 183 | Lt Gen D. P. Vats | Veteran |
| 184 | Lt Gen (Dr) Manoj Luthra | Veteran |
| 185 | Vice Admiral Raman Puri | Veteran |
| 186 | Vice Admiral Abhay Karve | Veteran |
| 187 | Vice Admiral Paras Nath | Veteran |
| 188 | Vice Admiral S. N. Ghormade | Veteran |
| 189 | Rear Admiral (Dr) Rajvir Singh | Veteran |
| 190 | Air Marshal S. P. Singh | Veteran |
| 191 | Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar | Veteran |
| 192 | Air Marshal R. C. Bajpai | Veteran |
| 193 | Air Marshal Pradeep Bapat | Veteran |
| 194 | Lt Gen (Dr) Ved Chaturvedi | Veteran |
| 195 | Air Vice Marshal H. P. Singh | Veteran |
| 196 | Air Vice Marshal S. K. Chaturvedi | Veteran |
| 197 | Air Vice Marshal M. K. Guleria | Veteran |
| 198 | Air Vice Marshal Rajesh Lal | Veteran |
| 199 | Air Vice Marshal O. P. Tiwari | Veteran |
| 200 | Air Vice Marshal Anil Tiwari | Veteran |
| 201 | Air Vice Marshal Nitin Vaidya | Veteran |
| 202 | Air Vice Marshal P. K. Shrivastava | Veteran |
| 203 | Air Vice Marshal S. K. Gagneja | Veteran |
| 204 | Air Vice Marshal Nirmal Thusuv | Veteran |
| 205 | Maj Gen Dhruv Katoch | Veteran |
| 206 | Maj Gen Arun Khanna | Veteran |
| 207 | Maj Gen Anil Kumar Oberoi | Veteran |
| 208 | Maj Gen Anil Bam | Veteran |
| 209 | Maj Gen RPS Bhadauria | Veteran |
| 210 | Maj Gen Achyut S. Deo | Veteran |
| 211 | Maj Gen S. K. Dhawan | Veteran |
| 212 | Maj Gen Suresh Kumar Khajuria | Veteran |
| 213 | Maj Gen T. K. Sachdev | Veteran |
| 214 | Maj Gen Anuj Mathur | Veteran |
| 215 | Maj Gen Ajay Seth | Veteran |
| 216 | Maj Gen Rajesh Singh | Veteran |
| 217 | Maj Gen P. N. Tripathi | Veteran |
| 218 | Maj Gen Rajiv Verma | Veteran |
| 219 | Maj Gen A. K. Chaturvedi | Veteran |
| 220 | Maj Gen Ajay K. Dutta | Veteran |
| 221 | Maj Gen Chandra Prakash | Veteran |
| 222 | Maj Gen K. K. Upadhyaya | Veteran |
| 223 | Maj Gen Narpat Singh Rajpurohit | Veteran |
| 224 | Maj Gen Praveen Kumar | Veteran |
| 225 | Maj Gen R. P. Choubey | Veteran |
| 226 | Maj Gen K. N. Mirzi | Veteran |
| 227 | Maj Gen Arvind Bhatia | Veteran |
| 228 | Maj Gen P. C. Kharbanda | Veteran |
| 229 | Maj Gen Sanajya Saran | Veteran |
| 230 | Maj Gen K. R. Prasad | Veteran |
| 231 | Maj Gen Anukul Chandra | Veteran |
| 232 | Maj Gen R. S. Shekhawat | Veteran |
| 233 | Maj Gen S. K. Kalra | Veteran |
| 234 | Maj Gen Dr Rajan Kochhar | Veteran |
| 235 | Maj Gen P. Vivekanandan | Veteran |
| 236 | Maj Gen Satish Chandra Gupta | Veteran |
| 237 | Maj Gen R. K. Gupta | Veteran |
| 238 | Maj Gen Deepak Sapra | Veteran |
| 239 | Maj Gen Anil Pratap Rai | Veteran |
| 240 | Maj Gen Rajiv Kalra | Veteran |
| 241 | Maj Gen Anil Khosla | Veteran |
| 242 | Maj Gen S. P. Rai | Veteran |
| 243 | Maj Gen Prem Sagar | Veteran |
| 244 | Maj Gen RGR Tiwari | Veteran |
| 245 | Maj Gen Suresh | Veteran |
| 246 | Maj Gen Sanjeev Grover | Veteran |
| 247 | Maj Gen Devesh Agnihotri | Veteran |
| 248 | Maj Gen O. P. Soni | Veteran |
| 249 | Maj Gen Shambhu Mehta | Veteran |
| 250 | Maj Gen Atul Bajpai | Veteran |
| 251 | Maj Gen Vijay Chowgule | Veteran |
| 252 | Maj Gen Nitin Indurkar | Veteran |
| 253 | Maj Gen I. S. Chaturvedi | Veteran |
| 254 | Maj Gen S. D. Chowdhury | Veteran |
| 255 | Maj Gen R. K. Singh | Veteran |
| 256 | Maj Gen Naresh Badhani | Veteran |
| 257 | Maj Gen Sudhakar Jee | Veteran |
| 258 | Maj Gen Janki Pant | Veteran |
| 259 | Maj Gen Rajiv Krishnan | Veteran |
| 260 | Maj Gen R. S. Jambusarwalla | Veteran |
| 261 | Maj Gen S. H. Mahajan | Veteran |
| 262 | Maj Gen Bollina Venkata Rao | Veteran |
| 263 | Maj Gen T. K. Chadha | Veteran |
| 264 | Maj Gen Nishchaya Raut | Veteran |
| 265 | Maj Gen Sanjay Puri | Veteran |
| 266 | Maj Gen Deepak Verma | Veteran |
| 267 | Maj Gen Pradeep Kr Mehta | Veteran |
| 268 | Maj Gen (Dr) S. S. Dasaka | Veteran |
| 269 | Maj Gen (Dr) Rajeev Pant | Veteran |
| 270 | Maj Gen S. Jetley | Veteran |
| 271 | Maj Gen Ashok Kumar Singh | Veteran |
| 272 | Maj Gen T. P. S. Rawat | Veteran |