Andhra officials boycott video conference with SEC

VIJAYAWADA: Though State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar asked the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Principal Secretaries of Finance and Panchayat Raj and also the PR Commissioner to participate in a video conference scheduled at 3 pm on Saturday, none of them turned up for it, giving an indication that they will not attend any election related meeting till the petition filed by the State government in the Supreme Court comes up for hearing on Monday.

On Friday, the Panchayat Raj officials gave a slip to the meeting convened by SEC till 5 pm. They visited the SEC office later and handed over the letter written by the Chief Secretary to the SEC to his office staff. Earlier in the day, the SEC while addressing a press conference exuded hope that the officials would attend the video conference to discuss the arrangements and logistics for the panchayat elections.

With officials not responding to the SEC, experts opine this could give rise to constitutional crisis unprecedented in recent times. Meanwhile, Panchayat Raj Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy said that till the State government’s petition is heard in the SC, no employees will cooperate with the SEC.

Ramesh Kumar writes to DGP

Taking exception to the remarks of Federation of State Government Employees chairman Venkatarami Reddy, Ramesh Kumar — in a letter to the DGP — said that the SEC views his comments as most provoking and a potential death threat against the Commissioner. He asked the DGP to take due cognisance of the matter.