YSRC Slams TD for Murdering Democracy in By-Polls
The opposition party leaders charged that voters, including women from Nallagondavaripalle, had been barred from voting, despite some of them pleading with the police.
Vijayawada: A YSRC delegation, including MLCs Lella Appi Reddy and Monditoka Arun Kumar, former ministers Ambati Rambabu and Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao, former MLAs Malladi Vishnu and Hafeez Khan, Vijayawada Mayor Rayana Bhagyalakshmi, and others, met State Election Commissioner Neelam Sawhney on Tuesday.
They submitted to her a memorandum demanding immediate action against the Telugu Desam’s blatant malpractices in the Pulivendula and Ontimitta ZPTC by-elections. They charged that TDP cadres, backed by police, had undermined democracy by blocking voters, intimidating YSRC agents, and enabling bogus voting by outsiders in the two ZPTC constituencies.
The YSRC leaders alleged that right since the polling began at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, TD workers and police prevented YSRC agents and supporters from entering booths. In Pulivendula, non-local TD activists from Jammalamadugu forcibly removed YSRC agents, seized voter slips, and cast illegal votes. They pointed out that YSRC candidate contesting the Pulivendula seat Hemant Reddy had been kept under house arrest, while TD’s Lata Reddy could move freely.
The opposition party leaders charged that voters, including women from Nallagondavaripalle, had been barred from voting, despite some of them pleading with the police.
Rambabu, Srinivasa Rao, Vishnu, Arun Kumar and Hafeez Khan stated, “This is unprecedented rigging; the ruling alliance used money and muscle to undermine voting. It is worse than Emergency.”
