Municipal Administration Minister Botcha Satyanarayana on Sunday alleged that State Election Commissioner Nimagadda Ramesh Kumar had paid his ‘guru dakshina’ to TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu by indefinitely postponing the local body elections without consulting the State Government.
“Without any documentary evidence on the magnitude of the situation arising out of the coronavirus scare, Mr. Ramesh Kumar unilaterally took a decision to postpone the elections by six weeks just to keep Mr. Naidu, who appointed him in 2016 as SEC, in good humour,” Mr. Satyanarayana alleged.
The Minister also recalled how Mr. Naidu had put pressure on State Legislative Council Chairman Shariff Mohammed Ahmed to use his discretionary powers and refer the State Decentralisation Bill to a Select Committee to delay the formation of the three capitals. “Today, the order to put off the local body elections was also another attempt to derail welfare activities in the State,” Mr. Satyanarayana said.
The Minister wondered how the Central Election Commission allowed distribution of money under the ‘Pasupu Kumkuma’ scheme introduced by Mr. Naidu just before the 2019 general elections, and how the SEC had now passed orders to not distribute house-site pattas to the poor on Ugadi as announced earlier by the State Government.
The Minister said people had lost faith in Mr. Naidu due to his negative approach and alleged that he was not in favour developing the State. “Mr. Naidu is interested solely in his family and his party,” Mr. Satyanarayana remarked.
