Ex-Servicemen meet President, express full faith in EC

A delegation comprising of ex-servicemen met President Ram Nath Kovind and raised concerns over the alleged effort to build pressure on the Election Commission by a group of retired civil servants.

New Delhi:A delegation comprising of retired civil servants, defence officers, judges, academicians and professionals on Tuesday met President Ram Nath Kovind and raised concerns over the alleged effort to build pressure on the Election Commission by a group of retired civil servants.

According to reports, the group of retired civil servants recently wrote an open letter to the President regarding the conduct of the Election Commission in implementing the model code of conduct.

The delegation was led by RS Gupta, the former Delhi Police commissioner and Vice Admiral (retd.) Shekhar Sinha who spoke to the media after meeting with the President.

"In the last couple of weeks, letters have been sent to the President defaming the Election Commission of India. This was done to demoralize the EC and we decided that we need the truth to come out. We have submitted a memorandum in which we have exposed the group which is trying to build pressure on the EC and influence their decision," said Gupta.

Citing the example of the Narendra Modi biopic, Gupta opined that if the EC is put under pressure, they might take decisions in haste. The former commissioner of Delhi Police slammed the group which had written an open letter to the President and also said that the group did not represent the whole lot.

"If the decision is not taken in their favour, they feel that the EC is biased. If they try to put them under a narrative and build pressure on them clearly they will take a decision in haste. This is what happened in the case of the Modi biopic" Sinha said.

The group clearly stated that those who are part of the open letter, just represent a small chunk and their opinion should not be considered as the voice of all.

The current group claiming larger participation in terms of signatures and strength has opined that the Election Commission should be allowed to function independently as it has been doing without any pressure.