Impotent rage, say ex-judges and veterans on Rahul's attacks on EC

New Delhi: A group of citizens comprising former judges, retired bureaucrats and veteran armed forces officers have lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for unleashing what they claimed his "impotent rage born out of repeated electoral failure" to tarnish the dignity of the Election Commission.

In a joint statement, these 272 personalities said that the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha has repeatedly attacked the Election Commission over accusations of "vote theft" using "unbelievably uncouth rhetoric" and by claiming that he would "hound" officers when they superannuate from the poll authority.

"Yet, despite such scathing accusations, there has been no formal complaint filed by him, along with the prescribed sworn affidavit, to escape his accountability for levelling unsubstantiated allegations and threatening public servants in performance of their duty," it said.

"This pattern of behaviour reflects what might be called "impotent rage" - deep anger born of repeated electoral failure and frustration, without a concrete plan to reconnect with the people," said the statement signed by National Green Tribunal Chairman Adarsh Kumar Goel, former judges S N Dhingra, Hemant Gupta, Rajiv Lochan, former RAW chief Sanjeev Tripathi, and former NIA director Y C Mod among others.

They claimed that several senior figures of Congress and other political parties, leftist NGOs, ideologically opinionated scholars, and a few attention seekers in other walks of life, have joined Gandhi with similarly blistering rhetoric against special intensive revision and even declared that the Commission has descended into complete shamelessness by acting like the "B-team of the BJP".

"Such fiery rhetoric may be emotionally powerful - but it collapses under scrutiny, because the ECI has publicly shared its SIR methodology, overseen verification by court-sanctioned means, removed ineligible names in a compliant manner, and added new eligible voters," the statement said.

It alleged the actions of the Leader of the Opposition suggests that the accusations against the EC were an attempt to drape political frustration in the garb of institutional crisis.

The eminent personalities said that when political leaders lose touch with the aspirations of ordinary citizens, they lash out at institutions instead of rebuilding their credibility.

"Theatrics replace analysis. Public spectacle takes the place of public service," the statement said, referring to Gandhi's attempts to target the Indian Armed Forces, the judiciary, parliament and its functionaries.

The eminent citizens also urged political leaders to accept the democratic verdicts with grace and respect the constitutional process.

"Civil society reaffirms its unshakeable faith in the Indian Armed Force, the Indian Judiciary and Executive, and specifically the Election Commission, in its integrity, and in its role as guardian of democracy," they said.