YS Jagan Mohan Reddy Demands Action Against Anarchy in Local Body Elections

VIJAYAWADA: Former Chief Minister and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has criticised the coalition government for allegedly disregarding Supreme Court directives and undermining democracy in the local body elections. He demanded the appointment of an amicus curiae to supervise the elections, besides the deployment of Central forces and CCTV coverage of the electoral process. Addressing a press conference at the party’s central office in Tadepalli on Friday, Jagan accused the Chandrababu Naidu government of disregarding the apex court’s directives and allowing anarchy to continue during the local body elections. He alleged that attacks on YSRCP candidates, the snatching of ballot papers and police bias threatened the basic structure of democracy and could lead to a constitutional crisis. “The situation during the ZPTC and MPTC nominations is no different. All YSRCP candidates, including women, were attacked and threatened, while their nomination papers were snatched and torn,” Jagan alleged. He also released a book titled Pachamookala Dadulu, a compilation of photographs documenting alleged attacks on YSRCP candidates contesting the local body elections. Jagan said the book would also be submitted to the courts. “We have been reporting all incidents to the concerned officials and will also move the courts, as democracy is at stake amid the prevailing anarchy. The TDP is manipulating the nomination process by filing papers in the names of YSRCP candidates to inflate the numbers and mislead the courts. They have also forged candidates’ signatures and announced the withdrawal of their nominations,” he alleged, citing incidents in Nandyal and Nagari. Jagan urged the courts to appoint an amicus curiae to supervise the elections and order the deployment of Central forces, video recording of the electoral process and protection for all candidates.