Don't follow SEC orders, Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy to officials

Tirupati: Panchayat raj and mines minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy on Friday warned the election officials involved in the panchayat election that they would face the music if they "blindly follow" the unlawful dictates issued by State Election Commission (SEC) to benefit TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu. The minister while addressing the media, went to the extent of subtly threatening them that the officials obeying the "illegal orders" of SEC would be black listed. "The State Election Commissioner (Ramesh Kumar) period will be over by March 31 this year,'' he said indicating that no one will be spared if they tried to follow what he called illegal directions of SEC ."It seems Ramesh Kumar is expecting some favour like MLC or MP position from Naidu and issuing direction after direction under the glance of Naidu to create hurdles to the government which is striving to conduct the elections in a impartial and transparent manner and also to the contesting YSRCP candidates,'' Ramachandra Reddy said hitting hard at SEC for stopping the unanimous elections of sarpanches in the Chittoor district, the home turf of Chandrababu Naidu and Guntur, the home district of Ramesh Kumar. "He has no power to stay the unanimous elections of sarpanches after the declaration was issued to them by the election officer who is competent authority to issue it, not the SEC. This would create unnecessary legal wrangles, he said adding that the act of SEC was intended solely to benefit Chandrababu.

The senior YSRCP leader said that sarpanches election without contest is not new and added that in 2013 also about 2,000 sarpanches were elected unanimously in the 13 districts (now in AP) when the state was not divided.

In the first phase, about 500 sarpanches were elected unanimously and the total sarpanches who will be elected unanimous in four phase will be more than 2,000 which is more or less equal to the previous election, he said, strongly defending the unanimous election of sarpanches to drive his point that there is no foul play in unanimous election of sarpanches.

The minister also accused SEC Ramesh Kumar violating affirmation he had given in his affidavit filed in the Supreme Court in which he said the election would first be conducted to MPTCs and ZPTCs followed by to municipalities, panchayats and sarpanches and begin the process from where it was left in 2019 but began with sarpanch election.

He also accused the SEC of being soft towards TDP for releasing its election manifesto and took action only after five days that too after YSRCP complained, allowing the manifesto to reach everyone in the fray and also the voters.