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Ensure impeccable, responsible discharge of duties on counting day, post-result period: Ex-civil servants to ECI

In a statement issued by 102 signatories –former IFS, IRS, IAS and IPS officials –the appeal is to the President of India, higher judiciary, the Election Commission, CEOs in every state and returning officers in every district to follow the path guided by the LAw and the Constitution of India.

On May 25, a group of former civil servants released an open statement urging authorities and constitutional institutions to uphold the ideals enshrined in the Constitution of India and ensure that the day of counting of votes, announcement of results and the post-result period is held in a fair and free manner.

These 102 civil servants, who alleged to have no political affiliation, appealed to the higher judiciary, the election commission, chief electoral officers in every state and returning officers in every district to discharge their duties in a transparent and responsible matter.

In the statement, they wrote “To retain the faith of the ordinary citizen in these constitutional institutions vested with the onerous responsibility of the free and fair conduct of elections, it is necessary that these institutions must not only be fair but also appear to be fair.  They must reassure the citizens of the fairness and integrity of the process through their consistently transparent and accountable functioning, and by continuously sharing information with the electorate.”

Highlighting the multiple concerns that had been raised by the citizenry throughout the ongoing election process, instances of unlawful voting, people finding their names missing from the voters’ lists, refusal of the ECI disclose the exact numbers of votes cast in each constituency, and inaction against hate speeches by senior leaders of ruling party, the civil servants prompted the ECI to address and provide explanations to the public upon the same.

The statement provided “It would have been fitting for the Election Commission to publicly explain actions taken, and not taken, by the Commission to address these problems and allay the fears of the electorate. They should still do this without further delay and in a transparent manner.”

In addition to berating the ECI for hesitating in their duties, the civil servants then emphasized upon the great task that lies ahead- the counting of votes casted and the announcement of results. In addition to this, they urged the President of India, Draupadi Murmu, to follow the established democratic precedents in the event of a hung parliament and follow the path of the Constitutional values while discharging her onerous duties.


The complete statement can be read below:

CCG OPEN STATEMENT ON 2024 LOK SABHA ELECTIONS

25 May 2024

We are a group of former civil servants who have served the Central and State
governments in various capacities. We have no affiliation with any political party but are
strongly committed to the ideals enshrined in the Constitution of India.

June 4, 2024 will be the final chapter of the eighteenth general elections to the Parliament of the world’s most populous country; the largest democratic contest that the world has ever witnessed. During this massive exercise, more than anyone else, it is India’s working poor, its farmers, its women and its youth who have affirmed their abiding faith in India’s democracy by queueing up in large numbers even in the searing heat of summer.

Elections are a particularly testing time for institutions that are constitutionally vested with the responsibility of ensuring the integrity and fairness of elections. These include the higher judiciary, the election commission, chief electoral officers in every state and returning officers in every district.

To retain the faith of the ordinary citizen in these constitutional institutions vested with the onerous responsibility of the free and fair conduct of elections, it is necessary that these institutions must not only be fair but also appear to be fair.  They must reassure the citizens of the fairness and integrity of the process through their consistently transparent and accountable functioning, and by continuously sharing information with the electorate.

During the 2024 general elections, concerns have been raised at many points about the fairness of the elections. These relate to fears that the EVM and VVPAT machines can be tampered with, instances of single persons unlawfully voting on behalf of many voters (some videos of this are in circulation), of many people, especially of vulnerable groups, finding their names missing from the voters’ lists, of the inexplicable refusal of the Election Commission of India to disclose the exact numbers of votes cast in each constituency, and of little visible action against hate speech targeting both minorities and the opposition parties by senior leaders of the ruling party. It would have been fitting for the Election Commission to publicly explain actions taken, and not taken, by the Commission to address these problems and allay the fears of the electorate. They should still do this without further delay and in a transparent manner.

It pains us to say that no Election Commission in the past has been as reluctant as the present one to discharge its duties, despite violations being repeatedly brought to its attention by responsible organisations and respected members of society. We hope they will not continue to show this disregard in the time that is remaining.

In the run-up to the counting, immense care needs to be taken for the safe custody of the EVM machines in ways that involve all the competing candidates and parties. Returning officers need to commit themselves to announcing the results of the counting of votes in every case without any delay.

In the event of a hung parliament, onerous responsibilities will be placed upon the shoulders of the President of India. We are sure that she will follow the established democratic precedent of first inviting the pre-poll alliance that garnered the largest number of seats. Also, that she would endeavour to preempt the possibilities of horse-trading.

On behalf of the citizens of India, we seek in humility to remind each of the authorities and institutions charged with the integrity of the process of democratic government formation of their paramount duty to abide and uphold the Constitution of India. We would like to remind them of the oath they have taken in this regard at the time of their assumption of office.

We bring forth the luminous pledge that India’s first citizen, the President of India, takes to “ preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law ” and to devote herself “ to the service and the well-being of the people of India ”.  We are sure that this will be her guiding light.

 

SATYAMEVA JAYATE 

Constitutional Conduct Group (102 signatories, as below)

1.Anita AgnihotriIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Department of Social Justice Empowerment, GoI
2.Anand ArniRAS (Retd.)Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI
3.Aruna BagcheeIAS (Retd.)Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines, GoI
4.Sandeep BagcheeIAS (Retd.)Former Principal Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
5.Vappala BalachandranIPS (Retd.)Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI
6.Gopalan BalagopalIAS (Retd.)Former Special Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
7.Chandrashekar BalakrishnanIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Coal, GoI
8.Sushant BaligaEngineering Services (Retd.)Former Additional Director General, Central PWD, GoI
9.Rana BanerjiRAS (Retd.)Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI
10.Sharad BeharIAS (Retd.)Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
11.Aurobindo BeheraIAS (Retd.)Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Odisha
12.Nutan Guha BiswasIAS (Retd.)Former Member, Police Complaints Authority, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
13.Meeran C BorwankarIPS (Retd.)Former DGP, Bureau of Police Research and Development, GoI
14.Ravi BudhirajaIAS (Retd.)Former Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, GoI
15.Sundar BurraIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
16.R. ChandramohanIAS (Retd.)Former Principal Secretary, Transport and Urban Development, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
17.Rachel ChatterjeeIAS (Retd.)Former Special Chief Secretary, Agriculture, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh
18.Ranjan ChatterjeeIAS (Retd.)Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Meghalaya & former Expert Member, National Green Tribunal
19.Kalyani ChaudhuriIAS (Retd.)Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
20.Gurjit Singh CheemaIAS (Retd.)Former Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Govt. of Punjab
21.F.T.R. ColasoIPS (Retd.)Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Karnataka & former Director General of Police, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir
22.Anna DaniIAS (Retd.)Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
23.Vibha Puri DasIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GoI
24.P.R. DasguptaIAS (Retd.)Former Chairman, Food Corporation of India, GoI
25.Pradeep K. DebIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Deptt. Of Sports, GoI
26.M.G. DevasahayamIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana
27.Renu Sahni DharIAS (Retd.)Former Principal Adviser to Chief Minister, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
28.Sushil DubeyIFS (Retd.)Former Ambassador to Sweden
29.A.S. DulatIPS (Retd.)Former OSD on Kashmir, Prime Minister’s Office, GoI
30.K.P. FabianIFS (Retd.)Former Ambassador to Italy
31.Prabhu GhateIAS (Retd.)Former Addl. Director General, Department of Tourism, GoI
32.Suresh K. GoelIFS (Retd.)Former Director General, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, GoI
33.S.K. GuhaIAS (Retd.)Former Joint Secretary, Department of Women & Child Development, GoI
34.H.S. GujralIFoS (Retd.)Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Govt. of Punjab
35.Meena GuptaIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI
36.Ravi Vira GuptaIAS (Retd.)Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
37.Wajahat HabibullahIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, GoI and former Chief Information Commissioner
38.Sajjad HassanIAS (Retd.)Former Commissioner (Planning), Govt. of Manipur
39.Naini JeyaseelanIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI
40.Najeeb JungIAS (Retd.)Former Lieutenant Governor, Delhi
41.Sanjay KaulIAS (Retd.)Former Principal Secretary, Govt. of Karnataka
42.Gita KripalaniIRS (Retd.)Former Member, Settlement Commission, GoI
43.Brijesh KumarIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Department of Information Technology, GoI
44.Ish KumarIPS (Retd.)Former DGP (Vigilance & Enforcement), Govt. of Telangana and former Special Rapporteur, National Human Rights Commission
45.Sudhir KumarIAS (Retd.)Former Member, Central Administrative Tribunal
46.Subodh LalIPoS (Resigned)Former Deputy Director General, Ministry of Communications, GoI
47.Sandip Madan IAS (Resigned)Former Secretary, Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission
48.Harsh ManderIAS (Retd.)Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
49.Amitabh MathurIPS (Retd.)Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI
50.Lalit MathurIAS (Retd.)Former Director General, National Institute of Rural Development, GoI
51.Aditi MehtaIAS (Retd.)Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan
52.Shivshankar MenonIFS (Retd.)Former Foreign Secretary and Former National Security Adviser
53.Sonalini MirchandaniIFS (Resigned)GoI
54.Malay MishraIFS (Retd.)Former Ambassador to Hungary
55.Avinash MohananeyIPS (Retd.)Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Sikkim
56.Satya Narayan MohantyIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission
57.Sudhansu MohantyIDAS (Retd.)Former Financial Adviser (Defence Services), Ministry of Defence, GoI
58.Anup MukerjiIAS (Retd.)Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Bihar
59.Deb MukharjiIFS (Retd.)Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh and former Ambassador to Nepal
60.Shiv Shankar MukherjeeIFS (Retd.)Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
61.Gautam MukhopadhayaIFS (Retd.)Former Ambassador to Myanmar
62.Sobha NambisanIAS (Retd.)Former Principal Secretary (Planning), Govt. of Karnataka
63.Ramesh NarayanaswamiIAS (Retd.)Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
64.Surendra NathIAS (Retd.)Former Member, Finance Commission, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
65.P. Joy OommenIAS (Retd.)Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Chhattisgarh
66.Amitabha PandeIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI
67.Maxwell PereiraIPS (Retd.)Former Joint Commissioner of Police, Delhi
68.Alok PertiIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI
69.G.K. PillaiIAS (Retd.)Former Home Secretary, GoI
70.R. PoornalingamIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GoI
71.Rajesh PrasadIFS (Retd.)Former Ambassador to the Netherlands
72.R.M. PremkumarIAS (Retd.)Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
73.T.R. RaghunandanIAS (Retd.)Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, GoI
74.N.K. RaghupathyIAS (Retd.)Former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI
75.V. Ramani

 

IAS (Retd.)Former Director General, YASHADA, Govt. of Maharashtra
76.M. RameshkumarIAS (Retd.)Former Member, Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal
77.K. Sujatha RaoIAS (Retd.)Former Health Secretary, GoI
78.M.Y. RaoIAS (Retd.)
79.Satwant ReddyIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, GoI
80.Vijaya Latha ReddyIFS (Retd.)Former Deputy National Security Adviser, GoI
81.Julio RibeiroIPS (Retd.)Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Punjab
82.Aruna RoyIAS (Resigned)
83.Deepak SananIAS (Retd.)Former Principal Adviser (AR) to Chief Minister, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
84.S. SatyabhamaIAS (Retd.)Former Chairperson, National Seeds Corporation, GoI
85.N.C. SaxenaIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI
86.Ardhendu SenIAS (Retd.)Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
87.Abhijit SenguptaIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI
88.Aftab SethIFS (Retd.)Former Ambassador to Japan
89.Ashok Kumar SharmaIFoS (Retd.)Former MD, State Forest Development Corporation, Govt. of Gujarat
90.Ashok Kumar SharmaIFS (Retd.)Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia
91.Navrekha SharmaIFS (Retd.)Former Ambassador to Indonesia
92.Raju SharmaIAS (Retd.)Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh
93.Avay ShuklaIAS (Retd.)Former Additional Chief Secretary (Forests & Technical Education), Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
94.Sujatha SinghIFS (Retd.)Former Foreign Secretary, GoI
95.Tara Ajai SinghIAS (Retd.)Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Karnataka
96.Tirlochan SinghIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary, National Commission for Minorities, GoI
97.A.K. SrivastavaIAS (Retd.)Former Administrative Member, Madhya Pradesh Administrative Tribunal
98.Prakriti SrivastavaIFoS (Retd.)Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Special Officer, Rebuild Kerala Development Programme, Govt. of Kerala
99.Anup ThakurIAS (Retd.)Former Member, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
100.P.S.S. ThomasIAS (Retd.)Former Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission
101.Ashok VajpeyiIAS (Retd.)Former Chairman, Lalit Kala Akademi
102.Rudi WarjriIFS (Retd.)Former Ambassador to Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica

 

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