SEC Biased Towards TDP: Ambati

Amaravati, Jan 9: Terming the conduct of State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar as biased, YSRCP MLA Ambati Rambabu said that he is playing to the tunes of opposition leader Chandrababu Naidu and thus released a schedule for local body elections, despite the prevalence of COVID pandemic and the State preparing for vaccination.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he said that SEC took an unilateral decision even after the government officials explained to him that state machinery will be busy in administering the covid vaccination for the entire population for the next few months beginning from January. Although the Chief Secretary Adityanath Das and other top officials, clearly informed that elections can be held after completing the vaccination programme, the SEC has adamantly announced the poll schedule without considering the state government’s views, and he is desperate to hold the polls before his retirement.

Ambati Rambabu said that Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar has been showing his arrogance of power, which is clearly evident in issuing an election schedule. He criticized Nimmagadda for working as a TDP activist, as he was only trying to protect the interests of Chandrababu Naidu and TDP. In fact, the Centre has issued warnings that there is a second wave of COVID risk, where even some of the developed countries are still going through the lockdown, while some states of our country have imposed restrictions in the fear of COVID pandemic.

He questioned Ramesh Kumar as to why elections were not held when Chandrababu was in power during 2018 and why did he postpone elections when there were less than 30 COVID cases across the State. At a time when there was no major effect of COVID, he postponed the polls, and now when the state government is emphasizing the need for vaccination, Ramesh Kumar is stressing on elections, said Ambati Rambabu adding that SEC is acting more like a slave of Chandrababu Naidu rather than a constitutional body.

As a large number of employees and government machinery would be deployed for administering the COVID vaccine conducting polls is highly impossible, as it also poses a high risk for the transmission of the virus. Ambati Rambabu stated that even employees are also opposing the elections as they are not need of the hour, unlike vaccination. He said that Chandrababu Naidu and Lokesh also didn’t step out of their homes for nine months fearing COVID. In view of the wellbeing of the people, once the COVID pandemic is tackled with vaccination, the elections can be held peacefully, and where even the public also can use their vote without fear of getting affected by the virus.