Amaravati: The YSR Congres Party demanded that the election commission shift the DGP of Andhra Pradesh RP Thakur keeping him away from election duties. The party said that the DGP was being become too closely identified with the TDP government. The party lodged a formal complaint with the Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora. The party further said that the April 11 elections would be held in a free transparent and smooth manner and that the Central Election Commission should take all steps to ensure this.

The current DGP of the state was behaving in an extremely partisan manner supporting the ruling TDP and should therefore be shifted, the YSRCP said. The party pointed out how opposition leaders were being harassed by the state police at the behest of the ruling party and two retired IPS officials who were re-appointed, T Yoganand and Madhav Rao, both of them were functioning as OSDs in the Intelligence departments.

Similarly, DIG Ghattamaneni Srinivas, who was functioning as a coordinating authority, in the DGP headquarters should be shifted immediately, the complaint said.

The YSRCP stated that though it had complained against DG Intelligence, AB Venkateswara Rao, who had since been shifted, he continues to interfere with the functioning of the police department. All this was happening with the tacit approval of DGP Thakur, the party said. Reports from the grassroots level were being sent by him to chief minister Chandrababu, the complaint lodged by YSR Congress Party general secretary V Vijayasai Reddy stated.

The senior party leader and Rajya Sabha member further said that AB Venkateswara Rao should be shifted to the state Secretariat to ensure that he does not interfere in the functioning of the police department.

The police department was run by a few caste-fixated officers belonging to one community. Vijayasai Reddy further elaborated that the IPS officer who was functioning as IG coordination in the police headquarters had worked as SP Chittoor and DIG Kurnool in the past. Srinivas appointed inspectors and sub-inspectors who would work to serve the TDP’s political interests. He demanded that a control room be set up in the DGP’s office as well as the Chief Electoral Officer’s office where emergency complaints would be received and prompt action be taken. Alternatively, an emergency response centre could also be set up, he appealed. And this should be the patter in all district with regard to the functioning of collectors and MPs, he observed. Finally, the YSRCP leader appealed to the election commission to depute observers to the DGP’s office on polling day to monitor the functioning of the police.

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