Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh local body elections creating a big war between the Government and SEC since ten months. Now this war came to climax which were schedule the Panchayat elections from February 4, 2021 onwards in four phases. PR Ramachandra Reddy alleged that “he is misusing his powers and is acting as per the instructions of Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu”.

The AP SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar’s attitude against the Government caused the misunderstandings and quarrel. SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar’s actions against the State Ministers, YSRCP leaders and the IAS, IPS officers caused the confrontation. The SEC on Saturday issued orders to AP DGP Gautam Sawang to confine the PR Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy to his residence only upto February 21^st.

Ramesh Kumar further instructed the DGP to ensure that the Minister does not have access to media to “prevent the Minister from making possible inciteful utterances that will have an adverse impact on the ongoing elections to the local bodies as well as on general law and order situation in Chittoor district and elsewhere”.

The SEC took serious view of the remarks of Ramachandra Reddy, addressing media in Tirupati, warning Collectors and Returning Officers in the state not to obey the instructions of the SEC and if they follow the Commission’s instructions (in preventing unanimous elections), action will be taken against them and they will be blacklisted.

The SEC said the utterances of the minister threatening Collectors, who are also the District Election Authorities and Returning Officers with dire consequences, if they follow the EC’s instructions which emanate from Article 243K, which mandates to hold free and fair elections, is a serious breach of the rule of law and tenets of the Constitution of India.