Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu writes to the ECI requesting action against CEO

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Thursday accused the Andhra Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of transferring Director General (DG) Intelligence, Superintendents of Police of various districts and the Chief Secretary without consulting the state government.

A letter written by Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu to the Election Commission of India (ECI) reads, "Whether it is unilateral transfer of the DG Intelligence (who was also in charge of the security of Honourable CM's Z plus security) or the unilateral transfer of Superintendents of Police of various districts or the transfer of Chief Secretary without seeking a panel from the state government, the ECI acted on the frivolous and frequent complaints by office bearers of opposition party in AP i.e. YSRCP."

The CM also accused the CEO of obstructing the state government administration in the post-election period by issuing statements in the media that the CM does not have the right to oversee administration in the state while the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force.

"The CEO, Andhra Pradesh reportedly mentioned that the Chief Minister does not have powers to review the departments. Newspapers of Andhra Pradesh and news channels too have carried out these comments of CEO, Andhra Pradesh and gave wide publicity, disturbing not only the People's perception over the democratic governance but also the established conventions of Democratic Polity. CEO's reported comments are without any jurisdiction as there is no such provision in Model Code of Conduct that the Chief Minister cannot hold review meetings."

"Though I am duty bound and empowered to conduct review meetings, I am constrained by the embarrassing apprehensions faced by the concerned participating officers due to the reported misinformation spread by the CEO in the media. He is exceeding his jurisdiction. He has also instructed Additional DG (Intelligence) who works directly under the control of Chief Minister not to report to the Chief Minister. Because of his illegal orders, Additional DG (Intelligence) is not reporting to me. I would like to know from Election Commission of India, whether the reporting authority of Additional DG (Intelligence) is also changed by ECI and if so, who is his reporting authority, if not Chief Minister," the letter added.

Voting took place for the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and for its 75 Assembly seats on April 11. The counting of votes will begin on May 23.