AP govt spying on me: Ramesh Kumar to Governor

After filing a contempt petition in the High Court, Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar on Wednesday has written a letter to Andhra Pradesh governor Bishwabhushan Harichandan that the Andhra Pradesh government has been constantly spying and tracking his movements in Hyderabad with the help of the city police.

Ramesh Kumar, who filed a contempt petition in the High Court against the Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday, stated in his letter to the Governor that there is a 24-hour surveillance outside his Hyderabad residence in Prashant Nagar.

A four-wheeler and a two-wheeler parked outside his residence follows him wherever he goes. He also stated that his phone was tapped. In the letter, he apprised the Governor that the Jagan government was stopping his entry into the state.

Ramesh Kumar’s letter follows the select leak of CCTV footage from Park Hyatt in Hyderabad where he met BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sujana Chowdary and former minister and current BJP leader Kamineni Srinivas which had sparked off a political row. Doubts were raised about how and by whom the CCTV footage was leaked in breach of an individual’s privacy.

Ramesh Kumar in his letter informed the Governor that he had earlier written a letter to the Union Home Ministry fearing a threat to his life, a fact that was acknowledged by Minister of State for Home Kishan Reddy. However, the Andhra Pradesh government doubted that the letter was fake and ordered a CID probe only to harass him, Ramesh Kumar stated in his letter.

It may be recalled that Ramesh Kumar had sent a five-page letter to the Union Home Secretary apprehending a threat to his life and that of his family members. In the letter, Ramesh Kumar noted that ever since the State Election Commission as a constitutional authority took the decision to defer the elections by six weeks there was an unprecedented assault on him and the State Election Commission “by no less than the Chief Minister who had attacked me in most vitriolic and offending language casting aspersions and prejudice.”

Earlier in the day, Ramesh Kumar, who was removed as SEC by the Jagan government but reinstated by the Andhra Pradesh High court, on Wednesday filed a contempt case in the court against the state government for dishonouring its directive. In the contempt petition, Ramesh Kumar has contended that the Jagan government had failed to honour the High Court’s order reinstating him as the State Election Commissioner.

It may be noted that the Andhra Pradesh government on April 10 had promulgated an ordinance to remove Ramesh Kumar from his post after he put off civic body elections citing coronavirus.

After ousting Ramesh Kumar as SEC, the state government had appointed retired Tamil Nadu judge Kanagaraju as the new SEC. Hearing a batch of petitions including the one filed by Ramesh Kumar, the Andhra Pradesh High Court reversed the government’s decision on May 29. In a major blow to the Andhra Pradesh government, the court had termed the ordinance unconstitutional and ordered the reinstatement of Ramesh Kumar as SEC.

However, a defiant Jagan government filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court to stay the HC’s orders. In a setback, the Supreme Court refused to stay the HC orders and observed that the Andhra Pradesh government cannot play with constitutional functionary. Currently, the case is pending in the Supreme Court.