Local body polls: TDP-led alliance seeks SIT probe into alleged YSRCP violence

A delegation of the TDP-led ruling alliance, comprising Varla Ramaiah, Neelayapalem Vijay Kumar, P. Ashok Babu, S. Rajasekhar, Chillapalli Srinivasa Rao, Pathuri Nagabhushanam and U. Srinivasa Raju, met State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha here on Saturday and sought the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged violent incidents involving YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) activists to disrupt the local body elections.

In a memorandum submitted to the SEC, the delegation alleged an organised criminal conspiracy to thwart the elections and claimed that the actions of YSRCP leaders were creating panic among the people. The YSRCP had blatantly violated election laws and the Model Code of Conduct and resorted to violence out of desperation over its inability to field winning candidates, the leaders alleged.

Mr. Ramaiah and other members of the delegation rejected YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s claim that the party’s candidates were being prevented from filing nominations. They said former Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy’s announcement that the YSRCP would not contest the Punganur municipal elections and former MLA Gopireddy Srinivas Reddy’s call for an election boycott exposed contradictions within the party.

Mr. Ramaiah told the SEC that YSRCP leaders had mobilised large numbers of activists with ulterior motives and that they attacked the police when they were prevented from entering nomination centres. He further alleged that the party had brought rowdy elements and anti-social forces from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to orchestrate attacks in districts bordering the two States. In Rayachoti, YSRCP leaders had brought in gangsters from Punjab under the guise of bouncers to foment violence, he alleged.

Leaders of the TDP, Jana Sena Party (JSP) and BJP also alleged that the YSRCP had approached courts even before the election notification was issued, with the intention of derailing the electoral process. More than 59 petitions had been filed in courts to stall the elections, they claimed.