Amaravati, Jan 23 (IANS): A host of leaders from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Saturday criticized the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) for opposing the rural local bodies' elections, even as they have been welcoming the polls since many days.
"Jagan Reddy's government is unnecessarily creating a Constitutional crisis in the state. It is defying a Constitutional authority like the State Election Commission (SEC) from discharging its duties with cowardice and scared of opposition from the people," alleged TDP spokesperson Kommareddy Pattabhi Ram.
Ram claimed that the right to vote is a fundamental right to choose a preferred leader, which the state government is allegedly blocking unconstitutionally and also allegedly attacking the SEC.
He highlighted that the state government is disobeying the High Court order to go ahead with the panchayat polls.
Ram said that since morning, YSRCP MLAs, MPs and even the Assembly speaker are talking and questioned them if they raised those points through their advocate general in the HC.
TDP leaders have also assailed a government employees' association representative, Kakarla Venkatrami Reddy for making unacceptable remarks.
They accused Venkatrami Reddy that he is allegedly a follower of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Likewise, TDP leader Syed Raffi highlighted that YSRCP leader and minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy claimed that government employees will not take up election duty and questioned him if he was a government employees association representative?
"Who are you to say that? Who is the minister to say that employees will not participate in election duty? What authority does the minister have? Have you been elected as an employee leader?" posed Raffi.
He also questioned if employee leaders have become the ruling party's representatives.
Ashok Parchuri, a former government employee and TDP leader said that neither the chief secretary nor others such as district collectors participated in the video conference convened by SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar on Saturday.
"When these officers did not attend the conference, what was the need for the employee associations to say that they will boycott the elections," said Parchuri.
He alleged that employees are making more derogatory statements than the government leaders.