The Election Commission, the bureaucrats allege, is suffering from a credibility crisis which endangers the integrity of the electoral process.
As many as 66 former civil servants have written a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind complaining that the Election Commission of India was, today, suffering from 바카라a crisis of credibility바카라, thereby 바카라endangering the integrity of the electoral process.바카라
The letter comes at a time when the Opposition parties, the Congress in particular, have been crying foul about decisions of the poll panel being blatantly partisan, favouring the BJP and its allies.
The letter, a copy of which is with Outlook, says: 바카라We write to express our deep anguish that the Election Commission of India (ECI), which has had a long and honourable record of holding free and fair elections despite the enormous challenges of scale and complexity, is suffering from a crisis of credibility today. The ECI바카라s independence, fairness, impartiality and efficiency are perceived to be compromised today, thereby endangering the integrity of the electoral process which is the very foundation of Indian democracy.바카라
The signatories, including former foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon and former Planning Commission secretary NC Saxena, among 64 others, have added: 바카라We are distressed to note the misuse, abuse and blatant disregard of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by the ruling party at the Centre, and the ECI바카라s pusillanimity in coming down with a heavy hand on these violations.바카라
Curiously, the list of signatories also includes Najeeb Jung who, during his stint as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, was regularly accused by Aam Aadmi Party and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of acting like an 바카라agent of the BJP바카라.
The letter goes on to list a host of 바카라glaring instances바카라 wherein the signatories believe that the EC has acted in a partisan manner. Among the examples cited by the retired IAS and IPS officers are the EC바카라s decision to reject allegations of violation of the MCC by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when, on March 27, he addressed the nation on the success of Mission Shakti.
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Asserting that the timing of Modi바카라s public announcement about the successful launch of India바카라s first anti-satellite weapon (ASAT), by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was 바카라questionable바카라, the former bureaucrats said 바카라propriety demanded바카라 that the announcement 바카라should have been left to the officials of DRDO at a time when the MCC was operative바카라 since the country 바카라was facing no immediate security threat that required the Prime Minister, who is an election candidate himself, to make a public announcement.바카라
While the Election Commission has rejected claims that the PM바카라s public announcement was a violation of the MCC, the former civil servants claim that 바카라parading the achievements of a government in this manner after the announcement of elections is tantamount to a serious breach of propriety and amounts to giving unfair publicity to the party presently in government and that the ECI바카라s decision does not stand up to the standards of impartiality expected of it.바카라
The retired civil servants have also questioned why the EC has not objected to the release of biopic on Modi that stars Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi and is slated to hit screens on April 11, the date of polling for the first phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls, or to the broadcast of a web series on the Prime Minister. The signatories have termed this as a 바카라backdoor effort to garner free publicity for a political person (and his party)바카라 and demanded that 바카라the entire expenses on the production, distribution and publicity of the biopic should be debited to the election expenses of Shri Narendra Modi.바카라
The controversial launch of NaMo TV, a channel that broadcasts only speeches of Modi and his public appearances has also been slammed in the letter.
Stating that they are 바카라deeply concerned about the weak-kneed conduct of the ECI, which has reduced the credibility of this constitutional body to an all-time low바카라, the signatories have appealed to the EC, through President Kovind, that the poll panel 바카라conduct itself in a manner where its independence, fairness, impartiality and efficiency are not questioned.바카라