Amaravati: Minister Audimulapu Suresh terms decision 'arbitrary'

Amaravati: Minister for Education Audimulapu Suresh said that the State Election Commissioner N Ramesh Kumar's decision to postpone local bodies elections was arbitrary as it was taken without considering the ground situation.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, he said the coronavirus did not affect the State badly, as the SEC claimed and elections could be conducted as per the schedule.

The coronavirus was a small reason used by the SEC to postpone elections or else the elections could have been completed in a week, he added.

He alleged that the SEC was favouring Opposition TDP and based on the demands of the party, the elections were postponed.

He said that it was clear that the TDP was going to face a humiliating defeat and hence the party resorted to this kind of politics.

Previously no SEC invoked Article-324 to postpone elections for such a long period with an open-ended statement. The Article was first used in West Bengal and reduced the period of campaign by one day. Later, it was used in Tamil Nadu's Vellore after the blatant distribution of money came to the fore.

The Minister flayed SEC Ramesh Kumar for exercising the discretionary powers to postpone the elections for six weeks or till the threat of coronavirus is arrested or declined. If that was the case, as of now there was no cure for coronavirus but all the preventive measures were being strictly implemented across the State.

The Education Department has issued strict guidelines to the field employees in the department but Ramesh Kumar might not be aware of such things, he said.

He further alleged that TDP national president and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was behind Ramesh Kumar's decision to postpone the elections as he was frustrated by the unanimous victory of YSRCP candidates in various places across the State. But YSRCP would win the elections whenever they are conducted, the Minister exuded confidence.