Why Is AP SEC Worried About Unanimous Election Of Gram Panchayat: Pedireddi

Amaravati: Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Pedireddi Ramachandra Reddy, in a statement, said State Government has been appealing for a peaceful atmosphere in villages and brotherhood among people by promoting unanimous elections and State Election Commissioner should say where politics involved in it is.

He said awarding financial incentives to Gram Panchayats where elections are unanimous has been existing for decades and questioned why SEC didn't oppose this system in TDP's regime, why elections were not held in the previous government and why SEC didn't move to court on existing G.O.

The Minister said Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar opposing unanimous polls in the democratic process itself is a political conspiracy. He questioned why Nimmagadda Ramesh is worrying about unanimous elections of Gram Panchayats and what is the necessity to speak about it before the nominations are even filed?

He questioned how far it is reasonable for SEC to speak in a press conference creating an impression that a particular party will be benefitted from unanimous polls and doesn’t benefit other parties despite knowing that local body polls are conducted on a non-party basis and without the involvement of political parties.

The Minister questioned if any election commissioner in history has ever acted like Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar and made controversial statements like him. He expressed doubt on Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu expressing the same concerns over unanimous elections in Gram Panchayats. He questioned if Nimmagadda Ramesh can explain on what constitutional and legal basis, he made comments on unanimous elections and said he has been working for some vested interests. He said it is part of the political conspiracy of Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar to criticize the Information and Public Relations Commissioner for giving ads on financial incentives to no-poll Gram Panchayats.

He said Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar’s action on Panchayat Raj Principal Secretary Gopal Krishna Dwivedi and Commissioner Girija Shankar is a part of a political conspiracy. He said people would lose trust and confidence in SEC for his behavior.