The faceoff between YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and state election commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar over the conduct of elections to local bodies is reaching its peak.
On Friday, Jagan mooted the proposal in the assembly to bring about changes in the AP Panchayat Raj Act making it compulsory for the SEC to take the concurrence of the state government in deciding the schedule and conduct of local body elections in the state.
Sources said the Jagan government is planning to promulgate an ordinance making it mandatory for the SEC to take toe concurrence of the state government for conducting the local body elections on the lines of Telangana government.
There is a provision in Section 197(6) of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act which mandates that the schedule and the date of elections to panchayat raj institutions shall be decided by the SEC only in concurrence with the state government.
Reacting strongly to the resolution in the assembly, Nimmagadda wrote to Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan stating that the resolution adopted in the assembly had no legal validity.
He said under Article 243K of the Constitution, the EC was an autonomous institution having equal powers of the Election Commission of India and it was the duty of the SEC to conduct local body elections once in five years.
“There is no need for the SEC to take the concurrence of the state government,” he said.
Nimmagadda urged the Governor not to promulgate the ordinance on recommendation of the state government but refer the same to the legal experts so as to get a correct picture.
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