VIJAYAWADA: State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar has written another letter to chief secretary Nilam Sawhney on Friday seeking the state government’s support for conducting the gram panchayat polls in February, 2021.
In his letter, the SEC referred to a petition filed by the state government in High Court seeking a stay order on conduct of gram panchayat polls. The High Court had stated that it could not issue any such stay order.
In this regard, the State Election Commissioner suggested to the state government that it complete the summary revision of electoral rolls by January 2021. It may be mentioned that the SEC has been writing a series of letters to the state government on multiple issues like release of funds, extension of support for conduct of gram panchayat polls, and referring to directions of both the AP High Court and also the Supreme Court.
However, the state government is unwilling to allow the State Election Commissioner to go ahead with the gram panchayat polls, claiming that the AP has been witnessing instances Covid-19. The government has been maintaining that the entire administration is preoccupied in taking steps to curb the spread of virus and provide medical treatment to affected persons.
However, the SEC, who is going to retire from service in March, 2021, is quite keen on conducting gram panchayat polls despite facing stiff resistance from the state government.
