Tirupati: Minister Peddireddy Ramchandra Reddy blamed Naidu and SEC for uncertainty in local body elections

Tirupati: Panchayat raj and rural development minister Peddireddy Ramchandra Reddy alleged that TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was hand-in-glove with State Election Commissioner (SEC) N Ramesh Kumar in getting local body elections postponed in the state thus further pushing the state into deep financial crisis by depriving it of Rs 5,000 crore Central grants which are reel ased only once elected bodies were in place.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Ramachandra Reddy said the people were angry at the "political conspiracies" of Naidu to obstruct the state government's efforts on implementation of welfare schemes.

Blaming the opposition leader for the present state political uncertainty in the state, the minister said Chandrababu's downfall had started and people were not ready to believe his bogus stunts. He was particularly angry with Naidu for making personal allegations of poll irregularities related to Punganur.

Ramachandra Reddy said during the filing of nomination, TDP leaders were engaged in internal fights in Punganure constituency and police and YSRCP had nothing to with them. But Naidu used these fake videos to get cheap publicity and throw mud against him. "The fact in Punganur incident is that TDP leaders came to mutual understanding and decided not to file nominations in many mandals. Here Naidu and his party district leaders have failed in create confidence among their leaders and followers.

Due to this, many TDP leaders have come forward and supported unanimous elections," said the minister while distancing himself from the allegations of his role behind alleged forcible unanimous elections in his constituency.

The YSRCP senior leader said the TDP chief had been opposing him in politics from the beginning and had been trying to tarnish his and family's image with false allegations. He said YSRCP winning most of the seats in the district was one more reason for his anger against him (Ramachandra Reddy).

As to coronavirus spread, the minister reiterated that there was no emergency situation in the state as only one case was registered and the government was providing all the required medical facilities to that patient in Nellore hospital. "But SEC and TDP leaders are showing coronavirus spread as the main reason to put elections on hold.

Whereas in France, despite several deaths from coronavirus, local body elections were conducted successfully," he said.

Deputy Chief Minister (prohibition and excise) K Narayan Swamy also spoke.