VIJAYAWADA: Even as the Election Commission did not respond to his letter urging it to relax the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in the four districts facing cyclone threat, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, taking gravity of the situation, conducted a review meeting at his chambers in the State Secretariat on Thursday and instructed officials to take precautionary measures to lessen the cyclone impact. Though Naidu initially decided to address the district collectors of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and East Godavari, he changed his plan. Special secretary of disaster management Vara Prasad and Real-Time Governance Society (RTGS) Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Babu briefed the Chief Minister on the situation.
Sources said that as the Election Commission has placed officials in a dilemma as to whether they can attend review meetings called by the Chief Minister or not, Naidu, to save officials from any trouble, chose to review the preparedness of the administration with Vara Prasad and Ahmed Babu and gave necessary instructions to them.
At one point of time, Naidu found fault with the Election Commission for imposing curbs in the name of poll code. “As the voting is over in the State, the question of influencing voters will not arise. If necessary, I will go to the field for supervision as there is no meaning for an elected government to remain a silent spectator in the name of MCC when the people are facing difficulties,’’ he maintained.
Expressing displeasure over the Election Commission’s non-response to his letter, he said that the poll body should have broken its silence at a time when the State faced with an emergency situations. “However, I am remaining silent to avoid conflict between systems,” he said.
Stating that officials were working as a team and discharging their responsibilities effectively, Naidu alleged that the opposition was attempting to divide bureaucrats. “As I don’t want to be the reason for any such unwanted development, I am exercising restraint,” Naidu said and sought to know whether officials were working under the supervision of elected government or the Election Commission.
Ease curbs in State, Congress urges CEO
VIJAYAWADA: The APCC requested the Election Commission and State CEO to relax Model Code of Conduct in Andhra Pradesh in view of cyclone and drought. Congress state chief N Raghuveera Reddy in the letters written to the EC and CEO on Thursday said that in view of cyclone threat to coastal districts and drinking water crisis in four districts of Rayalaseema, ECI should relax MCC.