State Election Commissioner (SEC) N. Ramesh Kumar is dancing to TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s tune, YSRCP MLA Ambati Rambabu has alleged.
Addressing the media here on Saturday, Mr. Rambabu said the SEC’s announcement of the panchayat elections was unilateral.
Chief Secretary Adityanath Das and other top officials had explained the SEC the government’s inability to conduct the elections as the entire State machinery would be busy in the COVID-19 vaccination drive for the next few months, Mr. Rambabu said, and alleged that Mr. Ramesh Kumar did not heed the government’s suggestion to conduct the elections after the drive.
“The SEC seems to be desperate in conducting the elections before his retirement,” he quipped, and alleged that Mr. Ramesh Kumar was working as a TDP activist and trying to protect the interests of Mr. Naidu.
Questioning Mr. Ramesh Kumar as to why he had not conducted the elections when Mr. Naidu was in power during 2018, the YSRCP leader also questioned the rationale behind postponing the elections earlier when less than 30 COVID-19 cases had been reported in the State.
“The SEC had differed the elections when there was no major impact of COVID-19. But now, when the State government is gearing up for the massive vaccination drive, the SEC has announced the schedule,” Mr. Rambabu said.
As large number of employees would be deployed for the vaccination drive and conducting the elections at this juncture would put them at high risk, he observed.
Employees too were opposing the elections at this stage as they were not the need of the hour, he said.
