Election Commission shifts Andhra chief secretary; Chandrababu Naidu says poll body aiding criminals

VIJAYAWADA: The ongoing tussle between the Election Commission and TDP just got worse with election officials on Friday night transferring chief secretary Anil Chandra Punetha and appointing LV Subrahmanyam, a 1983 batch IAS officer, in his place.

Punetha has been transferred to a non-election post, according to chief electoral officer (CEO) Gopal Krishna Dwivedi. Punetha is due to retire on May 31. Subrahmanyam is the seniormost bureaucrat in the state. Punetha is his junior.

Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu immediately hit back saying, “Do whatever you want, I will not be cowed down.” He added that that the commission had transferred the officer because he had expressed doubts over the veracity of the votes polled in EVMs and challenged it in Supreme Court. “The EC is supporting criminals. I have seen many ECs. You have changed my SPs and CS. But I will not fall on your feet succumbing to your pressures,” Naidu said.