Naidu writes letter to Governor over SEC removal, TDP leaders call it unconstitutional

TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday termed the Jagan-led AP government’s decision to sack State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar through an Ordinance illegal and unconstitutional.

In a letter mailed to Governor Bishwabhushan Harichandan, the TDP supremo citing Article 243K pointed out that the office of the SEC is constitutionally safeguarded under the Constitution of India. He said the removal of Ramesh Kumar by reducing the term from five to three years was against the constitutional spirit and hence the Governor should rethink on approving the Ordinance.

TDP leader Devineni Uma said the removal of Ramesh Kumar does not have a legal sanction and that Jagan was destroying all the constitutional institutions only to soothe his ego. “This is nothing but vendetta politics as Ramesh Kumar had postponed the elections. Since he has no authority to remove the SEC, he has moved the Ordinance. Where was the urgency to remove Ramesh Kumar, especially when people in the state are suffering due to lockdown and the spread of corona virus. The Nagari municipal commissioner has been removed because he said there was shortage of medical supplies,” Devineni Uma said.

TDP leader Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was trying to alter the basic structure of the Constitution, and said that such attempts pose a threat to democracy. He said the move to remove SEC Ramesh Kumar was unconstitutional and appealed to the Governor that the Ordinance should not be accepted. “The autocratic style of functioning is against the spirit of democracy. Whoever is opposing the decisions of the government are being sacked and removed from the office.”

Terming the YSRCP dispensation as an oppressive regime, he said the state government was resorting to witch-hunting. “This is an autocratic regime. Recently, the doctor from Narsipatnam who raised his voice against the shortage of medical supplies was suspended. This is most undemocratic functioning, the governor should take note such autocratic attitude.”

“The government should have honoured Ramesh Kumar for putting off the elections. Ramesh Kumar’s decision has averted a big danger to the state and its people in the light of the corona virus. It is sad that the government was making attempts to remove him. Where is the need for the government to remove Ramesh Kumar right away when the state is facing the corona pandemic. Jagan is trying to cover up for his failure to handle the corona crisis efficiently by removing doctors and municipal commissioners who pointed fingers at the governance. Now, they are making attempts to remove the SEC. This is a tuglaq government,” APCC working president Tulasi Reddy said.