Former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has strongly criticised the State Election Commission (SEC) for ‘failing’ to prevent election offences, forced unanimous results and false police cases against the Opposition leaders in the ongoing panchayat elections. He demanded a fresh notification for conducting repolling in all the panchayats in the three assembly segments of Punganur, Thamballapalle and Macherla. Panchayat Raj Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy and the YCP leaders committed massive violations in these segments to force an unprecedented number of unanimous results in sarpanch polls.
The TDP chief accused the SEC of failing to take required action though the ruling party leaders continued their offences and made a ‘mockery of the elections’. The TDP has written a number of letters from time to time bringing to the notice of the SEC about the YCP violations but there was no expected action.
Mr. Naidu said that the TDP has filed a petition in the High Court against the election offences being committed by the polling staff in connivance with the ruling party. Some returning officers wrongly declared the panchayats as won by the YCP while actually the TDP supported candidates got majority votes. All such officers would have to stand before the courts and face punishment. If needed, the TDP would take this fight to the Supreme Court as well. It was a black spot for democracy that the nomination papers of rival candidates were torn. The SEC, who should have stood like an unbiased referee, failed to act properly. The Governor was also watching the show silently without trying to save the democratic process of the election.
Mr. Naidu said that Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy was the main conspirator in the privatisation of the Vizag Steel Plant. It was the CM who has done brokerage in the whole deal with the Posco company of South Korea. The memorandum of understanding was signed with Posco only after Mr. Jagan Reddy became the CM. The YCP had love only for the assets and companies in Visakhapatnam but not the welfare of its peace-loving citizens. Maybe, the Chief Minister was taking his revenge against the port city for defeating his mother in the elections in the past.
