Guntur, Oct 24 — YSR Congress Party Guntur District President and former Minister Ambati Rambabu on Saturday alleged that the Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission (SEC) has become a "puppet" in the hands of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, "facilitating forced unanimous elections through violence and intimidation".
Addressing the media at his camp office in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur, Rambabu came down heavily on the N. Chandrababu Naidu-led government for "destroying democracy through collusion" between the ruling TDP-led coalition, police and the SEC, ahead of the scheduled local body polls.
He claimed: "Despite Supreme Court directions to protect candidates, YSRCP nominees were prevented from filing nominations, their papers torn in police presence and the media barred from nomination centres to conceal TDP atrocities. Police placed opposition leaders under house arrest while facilitating ruling-party candidates."
Rambabu also condemned the alleged police assault on former Minister Vidadala Rajini, who was reportedly pushed to the ground while assisting a candidate. On Friday, YSRCP demanded an independent investigation by the State Election Commission into the incident and action against responsible officials.
The video of the alleged police assault on the YSRCP leader was widely circulated on social media, with the opposition party highlighting it as another incident of police highhandedness during the ongoing nomination process for the local body elections.
"Senior leaders Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, Bolla Brahma Naidu and Namburi Shankara Rao were confined to their homes, preventing them from distributing B-Forms and assisting candidates," the YSR Congress Party leader said.
Further, Rambabu highlighted attacks extending beyond YSRCP, including purported assaults on Jana Sena leader Bellamkonda Srinivas's family and BJP candidate Suresh in Kadapa.
"Police promised protection over the phone but remained spectators during attacks on candidates, including women," he said.
Ambati Rambabu also claimed that YSRCP had identified 54 police officials, including IPS officers and Sattenapalli DSP Hanumantha Rao, for their "involvement in electoral irregularities". He urged legal action against them through the High Court and Supreme Court, condemning the misuse of police machinery for CM Naidu and his son, Cabinet Minister Nara Lokesh's "political interests".
Calling upon voters to reject such "undemocratic practices", the YSRCP leader called for support for the party's mayoral candidate Sridevi and corporator candidates in Guntur, appealing to people to vote for the 'fan' symbol and defeat the ruling coalition's "politics of intimidation".