VIJAYAWADA: Hitting back at the SEC for ordering confinement of Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy to his residence till the completion of the Panchayat elections, YSRC MLA Ambati Rambabu said the official stepped out of his purview by passing such orders, and misinterpreted the minister’s remarks.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, the party spokesperson said the state election commissioner does not have the power to confine a public representative as it overrules the Constitutional rights .
Ambati said Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar took the decision only because Panchayat Raj Minister Ramachandra Reddy is active in Chittoor district from where TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu hails. He reaffirmed that strict action will be taken against those officials who violate the norms and act illegally out of fear of the SEC.
He criticised the SEC for being vindictive and supporting the political interests of the TDP. “The e-Watch app was introduced without a security certificate... How strange is it that a constitutionally constituted body released the app without security certificate? Who would believe in such an app or the impartial poll system?’’
Rambabu also found fault with the SEC for not taking any action against Chandrababu Naidu who had released his party’s manifesto. Meanwhile, AP Assembly Privileges Committee chairman Kakani Govardhan Reddy, in Nellore, came down heavily on Ramesh Kumar and said the party would move the court if the SEC failed to roll back the orders. “It is very unfortunate that the SEC has taken such a hasty decision ridiculing democracy. It is not a democratic act to detain a minister. Ramesh Kumar has been taking actions beyond his powers,’’ he said and added that even the high court found fault with the attitude of the state election chief for introducing an app for elections in the state.
In Tirupati, Rajampet MP PV Midhun Reddy said the decisions of the SEC will not stand in the court. “It seems Ramesh Kumar is suffering with mental ailments.” Midhun Reddy added that the unanimous elections were seen in Guntur and Chittoor districts where the SEC appointed collectors of his choice.