The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) association has come out strongly against the trolling of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's family online after allegations of 'vote theft' by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders.
"The IAS Association notes with concern that unwarranted criticism has been directed against the family members of the Chief Election Commissioner, who also happen to be well reputed civil servants," the association said in a post on X on Friday.
Condemning personal attacks, it added, "The IAS Association strongly deprecates such personal attacks unconnected with the discharge of official duties. We stand for the dignity and integrity in public service."
The family of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar, particularly his daughters, have faced trolling by a section of social media users. Mr Kumar is a former IAS officer from the Kerala cadre of the 1988 batch. He retired as secretary in the ministry of Cooperation in January 2024 and was appointed an election commissioner two months later. He took over as the Chief Election Commissioner in February this year.
Alleging irregularities in the Bihar Special Intensive Revision and a constituency in Karnataka during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Mr Gandhi has claimed the Election Commission is engaged in 'vote theft' to benefit the BJP.
Several other opposition parties have echoed the claims, but the Election Commission and Mr Kumar have denied all the allegations.
In a press conference on Sunday, Mr Kumar also said Mr Gandhi should either submit an affidavit stating that his allegations are true or apologise.
"An affidavit will have to be given or an apology will have to be made to the country. There is no third option. If the affidavit is not received within seven days, it means that all these allegations are baseless," the CEC said.
"More than 1 crore officials, over 10 lakh booth-level agents and over 20 lakh polling agents work for a Lok Sabha election. Can anyone steal votes in front of so many people and with such a transparent process? Some allegations of double voting were made, but when we asked for proof, we got nothing. Such allegations scare neither the Election Commission nor any voter," he added.
