At least 124 former civil servants, with prior direct or indirect involvement in India's electoral process, signed an open letter addressed to the citizens of India on Saturday, 10 October 2026, defending the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. One of the signatories, former Indian diplomat Bhaswati Mukherjee, said the group was driven by a desire to counter what she described as a 'distorted narrative' being spread against the constitutional exercise.

Why the Former Officials Acted

Mukherjee said the former civil servants were alarmed by claims circulating in public discourse that India's democracy was in danger, that 'vote chori' had occurred, and that the country had become a 'banana republic.' She said the group felt compelled to clarify that the SIR is a routine and legitimate exercise to keep the voter list current — accounting for deaths, migration, change of nationality, and the enrolment of new and young voters.

'We wanted to explain to the people of India that the entire exercise of revision of voter rolls by the Election Commission, which is a constitutional body, was intended to ensure that the voter list is updated,' Mukherjee said.

Illegal Infiltration and the West Bengal Concern

Mukherjee specifically flagged the issue of illegal voters, citing her home state of West Bengal as an example. She alleged that individuals who had entered India illegally from Bangladesh, obtained false Aadhaar cards, and enrolled themselves on voter rolls needed to be identified and removed. 'They should go back to their own country and vote. So, it was a perfectly legitimate exercise,' she said. She also urged citizens with better access to technology to help others navigate the SIR process.

Opposition and CJP Protests

The open letter comes amid ongoing protests by the Opposition and the Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), which have been demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR process. The former civil servants' letter directly countered these demands, asserting that calls for cancellation of the last two years' elections and allegations that constitutional institutions are 'corrupt and faulty' lack factual basis.

The letter also condemned the use of the word 'rigged' without supporting evidence.

On the Integrity of India's Electoral System

Mukherjee mounted a robust defence of India's election architecture, pointing to the global standing of its Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) — technology she noted the United States does not use — and India's track record of providing technical electoral assistance to other countries. She recalled that in her diplomatic career, India had helped nations understand how to establish an electoral commission and why it should be a constitutional body.

On the question of removing an Election Commissioner, she was categorical: under the Constitution, the only valid mechanism is impeachment by Parliament — 'not through mobocracy or violence on the streets.'

The Signatories' Position

Mukherjee was emphatic that the group of former officials had 'no agenda' beyond protecting India's democratic reputation. 'We just want to set the record of our country so that our reputation of a flourishing democracy does not get destroyed or distorted,' she said. She added that genuine voters who find themselves left out of the rolls retain the ability to re-enrol, and that spreading panic over the process was both inaccurate and counterproductive.

The episode signals a widening public battle over the credibility of the SIR, with the debate likely to intensify as the revision process proceeds.