VIJAYAWADA: In a major setback to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday refused to stay orders issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) transferring AB Venkateswara Rao, State Intelligence Chief.
The division bench, comprising acting Chief Justice C Praveen Kumar and Justice M Satyanarayana, which heard the writ petition filed by Srikanth, Secretary, GAD, Government of Andhra Pradesh, dismissed the interlocutory application, observing that it cannot obstruct the orders of the ECI.
Following the court order, the State government issued a GO transferring AB Venkateswara Rao to the police headquarters with immediate effect. He was asked to hand over charge to the senior-most officer in his office and the DGP was directed not to assign any poll related duties to him.
Soon after, Chief Secretary Anil Chandra Punetha sent a letter to the Principal Secretary, ECI, furnishing a panel of three officers of the rank of Additional DG for selecting one of them as the State Intelligence Chief. The three IPS officers are - Additional DG (Operations) Nalin Prabhat (1992 batch), Kumar Vishwajeet (1994 batch), Chairman of the State Level Police Recruitment Board and Kripanand Tripathi Ujela (1994 batch), Additional DG, Home Guards.
As the court order came out, AB Venkateswara Rao met Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Deafening silence
The TDP camp sent out feelers that the govt might move the Supreme Court. But that line was dropped quickly and TDP insiders claimed even the High Court was moved only to ‘register protest’ against the ECI’s action. But not a single leader spoke on the court order in public.
For a while, the TDP camp sent out feelers that the government might move the Supreme Court. But that line was dropped quickly and TDP insiders claimed that even the High Court was moved only to ‘register the government’s protest’ against the ECI’s action which was based on YSRC complaints against Rao. Not one TDP leader reacted in public to the HC order, their deafening silence summing up the mood in the camp.
The YSRC, whose implead petition became infructuous, was jubilant. “It is a slap on the face of the Chandrababu government. We welcome the verdict. Chandrababu is behaving like a dictator with such arrogance that he even wants to control the ECI,” said YSRC State general secretary Nagi Reddy. In the police department itself, the shunting out of ABV is seen as restoration of order by a section of officers.
But apprehensions still abound on whether ABV will still pull strings from police HQ. The officers bemoaned that politicisation of the department has created a stifling environment with honest cops in danger of getting caught in the cross hairs of the raging political fight.
During arguments in the court on Thursday, D Srinivas, Advocate General, claimed that the ECI had exceeded its brief and cannot act arbitrarily under Article 324 of the Constitution which empowers the poll body to conduct free and fair elections. He further argued that the State Intelligence Chief was in no way connected to poll duties. Sh D Prakash Reddy, senior counsel representing the ECI, had refuted his claims and pointed out that the ECI had the power to transfer officials and its actions could not be construed as interference in the functioning of the State government.