Ever since Andhra Pradesh state election commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar got a favourable judgement from the Supreme Court on the conduct of local body elections in the state, the YSR Congress party leaders have been targeting him with harsh words.
Particularly, panchayat raj minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy and government advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy have been attacking Nimmagadda personally and accusing him of favouring Telugu Desam Party headed by N Chandrababu Naidu.
On Thursday, too, Peddireddy came down heavily on Nimmagadda, describing him as a stooge of Chandrababu Naidu.
“He has been working as a peon of Naidu, rather than head of a Constitutional body,” he said.
Peddireddy, while addressing the YSRC MLAs in Tirupati, said it was meaningless on the part the SEC to say that he had violated the Supreme Court orders.
“It is nothing but blackmailing a minister, saying he would go to the court seeking action against me,” he said.
Stating that Nimmagadda had transferred panchayat raj principal secretary Gopala Krishna Dwivedi only because the latter had not heard the words of Chandrababu Naidu before the 2019 elections.
“It is unfortunate that Nimmagadda has been the SEC of the state,” he said.
The minister reiterated that it was a must that the gram panchayats should be elected unanimously. However, those indulging in irregularities won’t be spared, he warned.