An ugly public face-off between Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and state election commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar over holding of panchayat elections is showing no signs of abating despite a high court order suspending the polls. The SEC has ratcheted up the fight by filing a petition in the HC against the single-judge bench’s order that struck down the polls. His petition will be heard by a three-judge bench on January 18.
The spat goes back to the time Reddy took over as the CM last year and has wanted to shunt out the SEC, who was appointed by former CM N. Chandrababu Naidu. The trigger for the latest duel was the government’s sacking Kumar. The SEC was, however, reinstated by the high court in response to his petition.
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The state government had opposed the panchayat polls in court, citing the pandemic and the Covid vaccination campaign, set to start from January 16. The SEC had, in turn, met governor Biswabhushan Harichandan and lodged a complaint against the Reddy government’s “lame excuse” of not holding the panchayat polls despite a Supreme Court directive. The SEC had alleged that the Reddy government was instigating employees not to cooperate with the election department.
Though the CM enjoys public support, his confrontationist attitude towards some bureaucrats appointed by Naidu had left many in his party anguished. “Why should he hold any prejudice against any bureaucrat? He or she is a public servant and they are bound to oblige the party in power,” says a close aide of Reddy.
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The opposition TDP blames the ruling party for its “failures”, including attacks on Hindu places of worship as well as harassment of upright bureaucrats close to the TDP chief. “Is it not enough evidence to prove the mindset of Reddy who is trying to settle scores with Ramesh Kumar, an honest officer? What was his sin? Was it for being appointed by the former chief minister?” asks senior TDP leader and MLA, Gorantla Butchaiah Choudhary.
By M.S. Shanker in Hyderabad
