SEC to visit Srikakulam today

State Election Commissioner N. Ramesh Kumar is scheduled to visit Srikakulam on Monday to review the district administration’s preparedness for the gram panchayat elections.

Collector J. Nivas and other senior officials are making arrangements for his tour and scheduled meetings even as the spat between the commission and the government over the timing of the elections continued.

APTF plea

Andhra Pradesh Teachers’ Federation State president K. Bhanumurthy said the association would urge the SEC to exempt pregnant women and employees suffering from chronic diseases from poll duties.

APNGOs State associate president Chowdary Purushottam Naidu and APNGOs district unit president Hanumanthu Sairam have already requested the SEC to spare medical and health employees from election responsibilities as they were busy with the COVID-19 vaccination duty.

Meanwhile, commenting on the spat between the poll body and the government, and the role of the officials, K. Srinivasa Rao, former president of Vizianagaram Bar Association, said, “All IAS and IPS officers and others are supposed to respect the constitutional bodies such as SEC. Intentional dereliction of duty leads to bad remarks in service records of the officials.” Lok Satta Party State executive president Bhisetty Babji said, “The ongoing confrontation was neither good for the government nor the SEC. They should stop allegations and counter-allegations since the election process has begun.”