Tag: andhra pradesh election commissioner

As Jagan Completes One Year in Office, His Govt Continues to Face Legal Battles

The state’s high court and the Supreme Court have pulled up his government in as many as 60 cases that dealt with a plethora of policy matters.

Vijayawada: A direct confrontation with the judiciary has been a consistent theme of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s first year in office. During this period, the state’s high court and the Supreme Court have pulled up his government in as many as 60 cases that dealt with a plethora of policy matters. The courts felt that many of the decisions he took ran counter to the basic tenets of the rule of law.

The major decisions of the government overturned by the judiciary included the following:

  • Sacking of the state’s election commissioner N. Ramesh Kumar
  • Introduction of English as a medium of instruction in state-run schools
  • Painting the village secretariats with colours similar to that of the ruling party’s flag
  • Spiking the quota for backward classes from 27% to 34% in the Panchayat Raj elections
  • Divesting the state police of probing the infamous murder of Jagan’s uncle Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy and shifting the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
  • Entrusting the CBI to probe the case of a government doctor who was ‘tortured’ by the state police

Apart from these, Jagan’s agenda of distributive capitals ran through a rough patch after a batch of petitions were filed in the high court.

His tussle with the judiciary reached a flash point when the high court served notices on 44 leaders of the ruling YSR Congress, including two legislators. These leaders were involved in a social media campaign that attributed motives to the judges who delivered a ruling in the case of Dr Sudhakar. The medic, a government doctor from Visakhapatnam district, was suspended for protesting the lack of personal protection equipment (PPE) for health workers handling the COVID-19 pandemic and subjected to ‘torture and illegal detention’ by the police later.

Govt-SEC trade-off

In fact, CM Jagan himself took the lead to openly criticise constitutional bodies like the State Election Commission (SEC) for deferring the panchayat elections. “We represent a government with the task of realising people’s mandate. Can the SEC or any institution override a popular government tasked with welfare of people”, he said, questioning the rationale behind the SEC’s decision to defer the Panchayat Raj elections at a media conference on March 15.

Reddy even took strong objection when the SEC put on hold the process of allotting lands and implementing welfare schemes to the poor ahead of the local government elections.

Also Read: Jagan Govt Promulgates Ordinance to Remove State’s Election Commissioner

The YSR Congress party won 151 assembly and 22 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections on the plank of a basket of nine major welfare schemes called Navaratnalu. The Jagan government reportedly spent Rs 43,000 crore on a slew of welfare schemes in the last year.

Jagan claimed that if institutions like the SEC attempt to scuttle the “welfare of the poor” and the subaltern sections with the strength of their autonomy, it only amounts to undermining people’s mandate. However, such schemes were viewed by both the SEC and courts as freebies to incentivise voting for the ruling party.

His rival and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, during the 2019 elections, also raged against the Chief Election Commission (CEC), which had suspended welfare programmes as part of enforcing the model code of conduct.

The stalemate with the SEC still continues, with Ramesh Kumar reinstating himself as the election commissioner. Citing the objections raised by Andhra Pradesh advocate general Sriram Subramanyam over his reinstatement, Ramesh Kumar has alleged that the Jagan government has defied court’s order by not allowing him to assume charge. The SEC later withdrew the circular, appointing G. Vani Mohan as the commissioner.

Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar. Photo: Screengrab

‘People’s aspirations’

Srikakulam’s YSR Congress MLA Sidiri Appala Raju also made a similar argument, saying that the judicial pronouncements have failed to reflect the people’s aspirations and public interest. He cited the scrapping of a government order (GO) by the Andhra Pradesh high court that pertained to the introduction of English as a medium of instruction in government schools as a case in point. Even after nullification of the particular GO, the Jagan Reddy government mobilised public opinion through a series of interactions with students and parents to build a case in favour of its decision.

Senior counsel Harish Salve, speaking at a webinar on May 30 on insulating the judiciary from ‘social media diatribes‘, justified the contempt case initiated by the AP high court against leaders of the ruling party. He said, “The comments were abusive, in defiance of the court, and against the majesty of the court”. Salve pointed out that the tendency of “such people” is to undermine the judiciary when the court does not agree with them.

The system of checks and balances is essential for the proper functioning of the three organs—executive, legislature and judiciary—created by the constitution, said K. Nageswar, an analyst, highlighting the need for the heads of legislatures to refrain from attempts to undermine the judiciary.

Jagan Govt Promulgates Ordinance to Remove State’s Election Commissioner

The chief minister was miffed with Ramesh Kumar’s move to postpone local body elections. The ordinance reduced the state election commissioner’s term to three years from five and may face legal scrutiny.

Vijayawada: The bitter showdown between the state legislature and the state election commissioner (SEC) over conduct of elections to urban and rural bodies in Andhra Pradesh culminated with the latter’s unceremonious exit on Friday.

In a swift development, the state’s governor Biswabhusan Harichandan appointed former Madras high court judge V. Kanagaraj as SEC to replace Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar on the recommendation of the state government.

Amidst efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government seems to have taken precious time to hurriedly promulgate an ordinance late on Friday, clearing the way for Ramesh Kumar’s exit. The government also simultaneously released a couple of GOs, apart from the promulgation of the ordinance, to formalise his removal.

The ordinance downsized the term of office of the SEC from five years to three years through an amendment to the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994. It is obviously intended to allow the YSR Congress government to show Ramesh Kumar the door, as he has already completed three years in office. The ordinance comes into force with “immediate effect”.

One of the government orders issued provides for the appointment of a retired high court judge as the SEC, replacing the present procedure which only allows the appointment of an IAS officer. Another government order stated, “In pursuance of Ordinance No.5 of 2020, dated: 10-04-2020, Dr N. Ramesh Kumar, IAS, (Retd), the incumbent State Election Commissioner, ceases to hold the office of State Election Commissioner on and with effect from 10-04-2020”.

Legal experts feel the ordinance is ultra vires and in contravention of the spirit of the Article 243K(4) of the Constitution in relation to the panchayats. Ravi Shankar Jandhyala, a senior advocate in the high court of Telangana, told The Wire that Ramesh Kumar has got a fair chance of continuing in office up to his full five-year term as the ordinance gives him enough room for a legal battle.

If the state executive treats the SEC, a constitutional office, like any government servant by downsizing the term of office on unfounded grounds, it only amounts to defeating the very objective of introducing the panchayat raj system with the creation of the State Election Commission, Ravi Shankar asserted. Experts also say the ordinance could not be enforced retrospectively to the convenience of the executive, with the sole purpose of sacking the SEC.

Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar. Photo: Screengrab

Jagan’s tiff with SEC

Ramesh Kumar, a 1982 batch IAS officer, was appointed as Andhra Pradesh’s SEC nearly four years ago, during the regime of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Ramesh Kumar’s removal from office cannot be seen as an isolated case in the backdrop of a slew of top bureaucrats allegedly tasting vindictiveness during Jagan’s government. Ramesh’ removal comes close on the heels of his decision to defer the local body elections against the wish of chief minister Jagan.

The elections had been scheduled to be held on March 31. But the SEC deferred the polls indefinitely, citing the coronavirus pandemic threat. Ramesh Kumar transferred collectors and superintendents of police in some districts, citing their alleged partisan attitude favouring the ruling YSR Congress that prevented the opposition parties from even filing nominations in many places.

Deferment of elections triggered an ugly fight between the state government and the SEC. Jagan depicted Ramesh Kumar as covertly supporting his rival N. Chandrababu Naidu, linking their caste affiliation. Jagan Reddy expressed anguish that the state would forego the Central grants of Rs 5,000 crore because of the SEC’s failure to hold the local body elections in time. His government even moved the Supreme Court, challenging the SEC’s decision, but was rebuffed by the top court.

Analyst K. Nageswar said the timing of the ordinance to remove Ramesh Kumar, when the state is under the grip of the threat posed by the coronavirus, points to ‘mala fide intentions’ of the Jagan regime. It is obvious that the removal of the SEC is not in the purview of the state government and hence the ordinance was issued, he added.

Jagan’s previous row with a bureaucrat

It is not the first time that Jagan had tread on the toes of senior bureaucrats since he assumed office 10 months ago. Reddy was accused of axing chief secretary L.V. Subramanyam, allegedly for not falling in line. Subramanyam, a 1983 batch IAS officer who was previously considered close to Jagan and his father, former CM Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was removed as chief secretary through an order issued by Pravin Prakash, a subordinate officer who is principal secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office.

The 48-year-old Jagan has been accused of displaying intolerance to dissent and getting “obsessed” with his rival Naidu. The chief minister has also batted for the Legislative Council to be scrapped, in yet another move seen by his critics as a pointer of his ‘intolerance’. The council, where the opposition TDP is in majority, put its foot down on Jagan’s plan to distributive capitals by sending the Bill to a select committee. Soon, Reddy moved for the dissolution of the council.

The YSR Congress government suspended A.B. Venkateswara Rao, a senior IPS officer of the additional director general rank, accusing him of extending “undue favours” to his son in the procurement of aerostat and unmanned aerial vehicle by the government. His suspension is linked to his alleged nexus with the TDP. Another IRS officer, Jasti Venkata Kishore, who opted for deputation on the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDP) during the TDP government, was suspended. But the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) revoked the suspension, allowing him to opt for Central service.