AP files plea in SC challenging SEC order postponing civic

The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday filed a plea in the Supreme Court challenging the State Election Commission order postponing elections to rural and urban local bodies for six weeks while a private petition was also filed in the High Court on the same issue, official sources said.

According to the sources, while the government petition is expected to be listed in the apex court on Tuesday, the High Court put off the private petition to March 19 as a similar plea is pending before the top Court.

State Election Commissioner N Ramesh Kumar called on Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan at the Raj Bhavan here and briefed him about the decision to defer the local bodies elections in view of the coronavirus threat.

Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney wrote to the SEC requesting that the order postponing the polls be revoked and conduct the elections as per the schedule announced earlier.

"The situation related to COVID-19 is under control in the state and it would continue to be under control for another three to four weeks," the Chief Secretary said in the letter.

Opposition parties demanded that the election process be cancelled and not just postponed following the violence allegedly perpetrated by the ruling YSR Congress.

The State Election Commissioner held confabulations with his officials and discussed the Chief Secretarys letter and the impending petitions in the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Official sources indicated that the SEC decided not to alter its position since the matter was now sub judice.

Elections to mandal parishad and zilla parishad territorial constituencies, the second and the third tier of the panchayat raj system, were originally scheduled to be conducted on March 21.

Municipalities and municipal corporations were to go to polls on March 23 while gram panchayat elections were originally slated for March 27 and 29.

On Sunday, the SEC announced its decision to put off the poll process for six weeks in view of the coronavirus threat.

The principal opposition Telugu Desam Party demanded that the Chief Minister tender an apology to the State Election Commissioner for casting unfounded aspersions.

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Yanamala Ramakrishnudu also demanded that the Chief Secretary withdraw her letter to the SEC as it was "unconstitutional."