Andhra Pradesh: Will move Supreme Court over Panchayat Elections, says minister Vishwarup

Andhra Pradesh Minister Vishwarup said their government was not seeking postponement of local elections out of fear. Speaking to media in Ongole of Prakasam district on Thursday, the minister responded to the High Court giving the green signal for the panchayat elections.

He clarified that they will go to the Supreme Court on the judgment given by the High Court Bench. He acknowledged that public health is important, not politics. "We want to postpone the elections with the intention that public health is important because of covid vaccination," Viswarup said.

He said CM Jagan is not a person who is afraid of elections. He said Jagan is the man who won with the highest number of votes with 51 per cent vote share and 85 per cent of the seats in the state.

Meanwhile, Venkatrami Reddy, chairman of the Government Employees Union, commented that the High Court verdict on the local body elections was not what the employees had hoped for. The verdict will be challenged in the Supreme Court and the employees' argument will be heard. Currently, there is a high level of coronavirus fear among employees.

He said that it is regrettable that the court did not consider holding elections after the distribution of the vaccine. He said the process would be completed in two months and after that the employees will be ready for the elections.

The government employees association has announced that it has decided to appeal the High Court judgment to the Supreme Court and said there is no need to put pressure on employees regarding the conduct of elections.