'Rigged only when you lose?': 124 retired bureaucrats back Election Commission as Delhi-Mumbai protests continue
Over 7,000 detained in Delhi and 400-plus in Mumbai during SIR protests as 124 former officers back the Election Commission.
Protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls brought thousands onto the streets in Delhi and Mumbai on Saturday, as police detained more than 7,400 demonstrators across the two cities. Amid the confrontation, 124 former civil servants issued an open letter defending the Election Commission of India and questioning allegations of vote rigging they said lacked credible evidence.
Delhi protest: More than 7,000 detained as police block Jantar Mantar
The largest police operation unfolded in Delhi, where more than 7,000 people were detained on Saturday, TOI reported. The action followed a call by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to assemble at Jantar Mantar and demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the controversial revision of voter lists.
Delhi Police denied permission for the gathering, citing security concerns and the organisers' failure to apply within the required notice period. Authorities subsequently barricaded roads leading to Jantar Mantar, restricted mobile internet services in parts of central Delhi and closed several Metro stations. Despite these measures, smaller groups of protesters gathered elsewhere in the capital, including near Dilli Haat.
Earlier today, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and organisers Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained after their flight from Mumbai landed in Delhi. Several high-profile figures and opposition leaders were detained across Delhi, including Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, AISA president Neha Bora, former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, activist Yogendra Yadav, and advocate Prashant Bhushan. CJP and the INDIA bloc have maintained that it will continue its campaign until Kumar resigns. CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde reiterated that demand on Saturday.
Mumbai protest: Imran Khan among over 400 detained
The protests in Delhi were accompanied by demonstrations in Mumbai, where more than 400 people were reported detained after police restricted access to August Kranti Maidan. The gathering had been organised in solidarity with the CJP movement, but protesters were prevented from entering the ground as security personnel erected barricades and diverted traffic around Nana Chowk.
Those detained included actor Imran Khan, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Varun Sardesai and activist Tushar Gandhi, who was stopped in Bandra while travelling to the protest venue. Police also detained several demonstrators near Nana Chowk and transported them to nearby police stations.
124 former IAS and IFS officers defend Election Commission amid protests
While protesters questioned the Election Commission's handling of voter lists, a group of 124 retired IAS, IFS and allied services officers publicly defended the institution and the SIR exercise. Their open letter, addressed to Indian citizens, argued that allegations of electoral manipulation should be supported by verifiable evidence rather than political accusations.
The signatories, including former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal, pointed to safeguards introduced over the years, including polling agents, sealed electronic voting machines, strong-room security and VVPAT verification. They argued that these measures had strengthened election management compared with earlier decades marked by booth capturing, ballot-box stuffing and electoral violence.
"A system cannot be honest when you win and rigged when you lose," the letter stated. To support their argument, the former officers referred to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP failed to secure a parliamentary majority on its own, as well as state elections in which the party had suffered defeats. They also cited the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls, which they said recorded the highest voter turnout since 1951 without requiring any re-polling.
Bihar SIR: Former officers cite 22 lakh deceased voters and duplicate entries
The former officials also defended the need to revise electoral rolls, arguing that outdated records could create opportunities for impersonation and other irregularities. Referring to Bihar's 2025 SIR exercise, they cited approximately 22 lakh deceased electors and seven lakh duplicate entries, alongside the addition of around 21.5 lakh new voters.
According to the signatories, the revision process includes safeguards against wrongful exclusion, such as the publication of draft rolls, opportunities to submit claims and objections, hearings and appeals. They urged citizens to verify their registrations and assist others, particularly migrant workers and elderly voters, in checking their details.
Why SIR voter deletions have sparked protests across India
The disagreement over SIR centres on the removal of voter entries and whether eligible citizens have been wrongly excluded. Around 13 crore entries were removed during the revision exercise, including records of people who had relocated, could not be traced or had died. The Commission has maintained that eligible voters whose names were incorrectly excluded can seek restoration through the prescribed process.
Opposition parties, however, have questioned the scale and accuracy of the deletions, alleging that the exercise could disproportionately affect their supporters. The controversy intensified after an Indian Express investigation reported that two election commissioners had raised internal objections to aspects of the revision process. The Election Commission and the BJP have denied allegations of electoral manipulation.
Rejecting these allegations, the former civil servants have called for objections to be pursued through established legal procedures rather than unsubstantiated accusations. "Questioning is every citizen's right. Proving is the accuser's duty," their letter stated.