andhra pradesh state election commission

Andhra Pradesh Court Reverses SEC ‘Confinement’ Order on Minister Ramachandra Reddy

Reddy allegedly attributed political motives to the SEC, saying Ramesh Kumar was favouring the opposition Telugu Desam Party with a view to get a seat in the future.

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh high court on Sunday lifted the February 6 ‘confinement’ restrictions imposed by the State Election Commission (SEC) on minister P. Ramachandra Reddy for his alleged remarks against it.

Justice D.V.S.S. Somayajulu, while hearing a ‘House Motion’ filed by Reddy against the SEC’s order, however, directed him not to address the media.

Panchayat polls in the state are scheduled to begin from February 9 and will go on till February 21 in four phases.

SEC Ramesh Kumar, in his order on Saturday said the Commission had carefully looked at various alternatives and avenues of remedial action and was invoking its plenary powers under Article 243K of the Constitution and directing the DGP to “confine” the Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development to his residential premises till completion of elections. The SEC also ordered that the minister should not talk to the media.

Reddy’s counsel contended that his client was not served with any notice by the Commission before issuing the Confinement Orders. Reddy also allegedly attributed political motives to the SEC, saying Ramesh Kumar was favouring the opposition Telugu Desam Party with a view to get its MP or MLC seat in future.

According to the SEC Order, the minister, in a press conference last week, warned collectors and returning officers not to obey the instructions of the “madcap Election Commissioner” and if they do so (preventing forced unanimous elections), action would be taken against those officials and they would be blacklisted after the polls are over.

(PTI)

Andhra Pradesh SEC Orders Confinement of Panchayati Raj Minister to His Residence

Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy had threatened to “blacklist” state government officials if they obeyed the orders of the poll body. Local body polls in the state are scheduled from February 9 to 21, until which the SEC’s orders will remain in effect.

Amaravati: In a rare occurrence, the state election commission (SEC) of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday issued orders to the director general of police (DGP) to ensure that minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy is “confined” to his home till February 21 for his alleged remarks against the commission.

Panchayat polls in the state are scheduled to begin from February 9 and will go on till February 21 in four phases.

SEC Ramesh Kumar in his order said the Commission had carefully looked at various alternatives and avenues of remedial action and was invoking its plenary powers under Article 243K of the Constitution and directing the DGP to “confine” the minister for panchayati raj and rural development to his residential premises till completion of gram panchyat elections, which would conclude on February 21.

“The orders issued are in the nature of reasonable restrictions and are essentially preventive measures, taken recourse to ensure free and fair elections and to enable the voters to exercise their franchise freely uninfluenced by threats and intimidation”, the order said.

According to the SEC order, the minister, in a press conference on Thursday, had warned collectors and returning officers not to obey the instructions of the “madcap election commissioner” and if they do so (preventing forced unanimous elections), action will be taken against those officials and they will be blacklisted after the polls are over.

Reddy also allegedly attributed political motives to the SEC, saying Ramesh Kumar is favouring the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with a view to get its MP or MLC seat in the future.

Reacting to SEC’s order, Reddy said he just watched the news on TV channels and if the DGP has to implement the SEC’s order, he can do it.

“I am not opposing it. I am only saying that these kinds of gag orders issued by the SEC in connivance with TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu indicate that the SEC has gone mad. People will certainly teach them lessons for this,” Reddy told reporters.

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.