AMRAVATI: Andhra Pradesh (AP) Government Employees Federation hit out at the State Election Commissioner (SEC), Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, for 'not caring about the lives of employees' by announcing local body elections amid COVID-19 outbreak.
Chairman of the Federation Venkatram Reddy questioned the SEC for announcing the poll dates amid the ongoing pandemic.
"The SEC addressed a press conference which was attended by not more than 10-15 people. Despite there being a distance of at least 15 feet between the press personnel and him, he chose to be surrounded by a glass shield to protect himself," said Reddy.
"On the other hand, without paying heed to what the government is saying, he has decided to call for the local body polls, thereby putting the lives of thousands of employees in danger," added Reddy.
"Aren't our lives valuable?" asked Reddy on SEC's decision.
Questioning the timing of the notification, Reddy said, "If the SEC was so committed to empowering the local bodies, why didn't he call for the local body polls as soon as the tenure expired in 2018?"
Reddy, on behalf of AP Government Employees Federation, requested the SEC to delay the polls by 60 days so that all the employees are vaccinated before they are asked to be part of election duties.
"We aren't against the elections being held. We aren't for any political party, we just want to be safe," he said.
Responding to the SEC referring to elections being held in other states, Reddy said, "Yes, elections were held in other states but that was done at a time when no one had a clue about when the vaccine would be out."
Now the vaccines are out and the process to vaccinate employees has already started. Therefore, we are requesting the SEC to delay the polls by just two months but in vain, he added.
AP NGOs State president Chandrasekhar Reddy told TNIE that they will announce the future course of action on Tuesday. He said that they are getting phone calls and messages from the employees in districts advising to boycott the election duties.
However, a final call will be taken after discussion within the organisation, he said. Federation of State Government Employees chairman K Venkatarami Reddy said that they only sought exemption of those employees facing health issues. Elections can be conducted with those staff who are coming forward to discharge duties, he said.