With High Court taking cognizance of the petition filed against the Election Commission and GHMC, Dr Marri Sashidhar Reddy, the man who single handedly fought against the deletion of names from the voter list of several “Seemandhra voters” said he was ready to prove the complicity of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in the whole episode.
Talking to telugu360.com Dr Reddy said he had evidence to prove that the CM was involved in the murky affair of removing the names of hostile voters from areas where the CM feared he would not get votes. “And the CEO has to pay price for his role in the deletion of names of voters from the list” he said.
“I will take the issue to the logical conclusion. I know when the CM summoned CEO Bhanwar Lal to the Camp Office along with other officials related to the revision of voters list in the GHMC area. CM’s summoning of officers on deputation to Election Commission was wrong. And officials were equally wrong in attending a meeting summoned by the chief minister,” he said. According to Reddy, the meeting took between the CM and the other election officials took place on July 21, 2015.
Reddy said in the meeting removal of names had been discussed and a target of 15 lakh was fixed for the deletion of names on the pretext eliminating the bogus voters.
” Somesh Kumar had been shifted from GHMC for his role in the dubious activity. The team, deputed by the EC to look into the matter seems to have found substance in the charges of political parties. So, he was shifted immediately. Now, I want to pursue the matter till it reached the logical conclusion. I will take up the matter with Election Commission till an action is taken against Bhanwar Lal,” Reddy said.
Reddy said the CEO committed impropriety and violated the 13 cc of the Representation of People’s Act which specifies that the Chief Electoral Officer and District Election Officers were deemed to be on the deputation to the Election Commission and they were subject to the control, superintendence and discipline of the Election Commission”. ” When the Act is so specific about the role of the election officials on deputation to the Election Commission, how could a chief minister summon and give directions to the CEO and how the latter oblige,” he asked.
Reddy says the CM had insisted on deletion of ‘bogus voters’ en masse from electoral rolls as their continuance would undermine the electoral process in the GHMC area. “The meaning of this is that in many areas in GHMC area the voters are ranged against the TRS. The CM knows it pretty well. By applying Aadhar card many of these could become bogus voter as many of them do not possess it. This is sheer abuse of position,” he said. He cited the case of Uttar Pradesh where UP State government had to suspend senior officers including the District Election Officer of Moradabad and others in the case of illegal deletion of 15,800 names of voters in Thakurdwara assembly constituency, a segment of Rampur LS constituency. The case of GHMC voter deletion is certain to set a new trend in prevention of manipulative politics in the country, he said.
