It wasn't as simple as you're now making it out to be, Mr @virsanghvi. The allegations went far beyond Gyanesh Kumar being a "dictator," and it's disingenuous to suggest otherwise. Dictatorial people aren't unusual in any walk of life, including the media, where some editors were notorious for their imperiousness. That alone doesn't make a person tainted or their intentions mala fide. But the attacks weren't really against Gyanesh Kumar. They were against the institution of @ECISVEEP and, by extension, the government and the BJP. The insinuation was that the EC facilitated "Vote Chori" to keep or bring the BJP to power at the Centre and in the states. Gyanesh Kumar, whom you called an "old stooge" of those in power, was cast as the chief architect of this nefarious operation, even riding roughshod over his "dissenting" colleagues. This was also the crux of the LoP's grand press conference. There he displayed photos resembling a rogues' gallery: PM @narendramodi, Home Minister @AmitShah, their cabinet colleagues, businessmen and even a yoga guru, all shown alongside Gyanesh Kumar as accomplices and key players. The BJP is alleged to be the direct and selective beneficiary of this conspiracy, though SIR was conducted even in states where the BJP wasn't in power or didn't win, such as Keralam and TN. So the party has every right to refute the charge that it holds power by manipulating the system with the help of a pliant official. In doing so @rsprasad and @BJP4India are not speaking on behalf of anyone - but reassuring their own constituents who could be misled by sustained malicious propaganda. Gyanesh Kumar doesn't need to defend himself personally. His primary responsibility is to protect the institution's credibility and preserve the confidence of the people who have placed their trust in the EC. He has done that, albeit belatedly. Some may even argue it was "too little, too late." But one wonders: why are some eminent public intellectuals and opinion makers "of consequence" so quick to latch on to conspiracy theories about this government, without waiting for the facts to be sifted from mischievous fiction. After being called out they “doth protest too much”. CC: @rwac48 #GyaneshKumar #ElectionCommissionOfIndia