NEW DELHI: A group of 272 eminent citizens — 16 judges, 123 retired bureaucrats including 14 former ambassadors, and 133 retired armed forces officers — issued a signed letter on Wednesday criticising Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, though without naming him directly, for what they saw as attempts to undermine key constitutional institutions such as the Election Commission of India (ECI).
In their open letter, they wrote, “We, the senior citizens of civil society, express our grave concern that India’s democracy is under assault, not by force, but by a rising tide of venomous rhetoric directed toward its foundational institutions.”
They said some political leaders, without offering real policy alternatives, had chosen “provocative but unsubstantiated accusations” as part of “theatrical political strategy”. After targeting the Armed Forces, the Judiciary, Parliament and constitutional functionaries, they said, “now it is the turn of Election Commission of India to face systematic and conspiratorial attacks”.
The Congress has accused the EC of favouring the BJP and enabling “vote-chori”; both have denied the claims. The signatories described Gandhi’s recent “atom bomb” remark as “unbelievably uncouth rhetoric”, saying he had filed “no formal complaint… with the prescribed sworn affidavit” despite making such serious allegations.
They called these attacks “impotent rage — deep anger born of repeated electoral failure… without a concrete plan to reconnect with the people”, arguing that leaders who lose touch with citizens “lash out at institutions instead of rebuilding their credibility”. The letter urged citizens to stand by the EC and asked politicians to “respect the constitutional process”.