New Delhi: Just a fortnight ahead of the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the Opposition parties have started questioning the Election Commission of India (EC) and its alleged 'political predisposition'. On Wednesday the TDP-ruled state government in Andhra Pradesh filed a petition in High Court challenging the orders of the EC transferring three top cops on Tuesday night. The court accepted the petition.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed serious concern over the issue and questioned how the Election commission reacts immediately on the complaint of an alleged economic offender Vijayasai Reddy. He further alleged that the Opposition YSR Congress party was trying to terrorise officials. He said that the transfer of officials who will not come under EC purview sends wrong signals.
IG A B Venkateswara Rao, Srikakulam SP Venkataratnam and Kadapa SP Rahuldev Sarma were transferred on the basis of a complaint, lodged by Vijayasai Reddy to the EC. The AP CM further warned of launching 'Save Democracy and Save Democratic Institutions' agitation. A TDP delegation of MPs CM Ramesh, K Raveendra Kumar and other senior leaders met the Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) Sunil Arora on Wednesday evening and submitted a memorandum.
The Trinamool Congress, the ruling party in West Bengal too objected to the appointment of former BSF Director General K K Sharma as special police observer for West Bengal and Jharkhand late on Tuesday evening, alleging that he was present at an RSS function a year earlier. "EC has now appointed KK Sharma, retired DG BSF, as Special Central Police Observer for West Bengal and Jharkhand. Over one year ago (Feb 2018) Trinamool had raised an objection to his presence in uniform at an RSS function," Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien tweeted.
The Election Commission appointed four special observers, two retired IRS and two IPS officer, to spearhead its efforts to check the abuse of black money and illegal inducements to voters and monitor deployment of security forces in select sensitive states during the Lok Sabha polls. Sharma is one of them.