Huzurabad bypolls: Cong letter to EC against cabinet minister's relentless campaign

Hyderabad: All India Kisan Congress vice-chairman M Kodandaram Reddy has written to the Election Commission of India to take action on Telangana Cabinet Minister Tanner Harish Rao alleging that he has been relentlessly campaigning in the Huzurabad constituency for the last one month setting aside all his work.

In a letter to Chief Electoral Officer Shashank Goel on Sunday, Reddy said Harish Rao is a cabinet minister for finance who has been relentlessly campaigning in the Huzurabad constituency for over a month.

"His influence as a senior member in the Telangana cabinet is widely known. His continuous presence and intensive campaign in Huzurabad is inappropriate. Propriety demands that he should resign from the cabinet to undertake an election campaign. In the past, there have been instances where Ministers have stepped down to campaign in elections, thus, establishing a healthy trend and norms. This model behaviour has been upheld by TN Seshan as Chief Election Commissioner of India," Kodanda Reddy said in his letter.

He said the presence of Harish Rao, as a Cabinet Minister, in the Huzurabad constituency election will definitely influence the election process. His presence as minister will vitiate a fair election atmosphere. The protocol for the Minister and his very presence can have a negative influence on election administration and voters, Kodanda Reddy said.

Keeping this in view, the Congress leader requested the election authorities to issue relevant directions which can lead either to the withdrawal of Harish Rao from campaigning in the Huzurabad constituency or his resignation from the cabinet and continue the campaign as an ex-minister.