Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu lambasted Chief Secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam for not attending a review meeting he had called on Cyclone Fani.
He said all officials including the Chief Secretary have to report him and that he would initiate serious action against those who violate norms.
Speaking to mediapersons at the Praja Vedika at Undvalli, Amaravati, on Friday, Mr Naidu said he would conduct a Cabinet meeting next week and take action against such officials.
Mr Naidu said there were no instructions against outgoing Chief Ministers conducting Cabinet meetings and reviews and pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also faces a re-election, had conducted four Cabinet meetings.
Mr Naidu said there was no rule about officials reporting to the Election Commission. He said the poll panel should give its order in writing if it was against the Chief Minister conducting review and Cabinet meetings.
Earlier in the day, Mr Naidu conducted a review meeting on the impact of Cyclone Fani which Mr Subrahmanyam skipped. Mr Naidu lost his cool at this. He said the chief secretaries of all other states were reporting to the Chief Minister and wanted to know why Mr Subrahmanyam was not doing so.
“Did the CS not know about reporting to the CM,” Mr Naidu asked. “Should I go to the CS and persuade him to attend the meeting.”
He said, “This CS may continue for three months, I have worked as minister for 22 years and seen numerous elections and. This is not my first or last election.” He said he would conduct a Cabinet meeting to take action against those who do not follow norms.
He also said that he would go to the Polavaram project site to inspect the progress of work.
Mr Naidu alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial statements were music to the Election Commission, and it was therefore not taking any action against him. Mr Naidu said he was fighting against Mr Modi without fearing raids by the income tax department, Enforcement Directorate and other agencies.
He said that half of the voting public does not know about the electronic voting machines (EVMs) which was why he was fighting against them. He said the Supreme Court had admitted their review petition on counting of VVPATs. He said the paper ballot was better suited to India.
He demanded that if discrepancy found in the tallying of the EVMs and VVPATs, all paper trails should be counted. He said that if the EC used EVMs in local body elections, he would ensure the count of VVPATs without fail.
On Cyclone Fani, he said the Real Time Governance System (RTGS) had worked well and added that Odisha had praised its RTGS.
Mr Naidu said that for the first time intra-circle roaming and cell broadcasting was used to ensure there was no break in communications. He said AP would send equipment to Odisha for cyclone relief.
