A case has been registered against Government Advisor and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) general secretary, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, for allegedly making provocative statements concerning the vote counting process. The case was filed at Tadepalli police station on Thursday, May 30 following a complaint by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Gudapati Lakshminarayana.
The TDP alleged in its complaint that Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy's remarks during a meeting with his party’s chief election agents were intended to disrupt the counting process.
On May 29, during the meeting with counting agents Sajjala said, “One should remember the opposition will not be fair. So, caution is necessary. Being extra careful is not harmful. This is not an exam. Every rule has an interpretation. A vote polled to our party must fall in our account. If that is not happening, raise it to the Supervisor. If the official seems to be biased, bring it to the candidate's attention, and he will file a formal complaint."
"We do not need people who step back doubting if it is valid by the rules. We are not here to go rule by rule. There won't be any use if you regret later. What we need is to counter the tactics of the opposition by making use of rules accordingly to make sure no vote which is valid should be counted as invalid,” Sajjala added.
In the complaint, TDP legal cell general secretary, Gudapati Lakshminarayana stated that these statements were a serious violation of the Model Code of Conduct. “This amounts to threatening the public servants on election duty in the entire state with a view to intimidate them on the day of counting,” Laxmi Narayana stated in the complaint. He alleged that the statements were made with an intention to disturb the counting process with the ‘criminal motive of creating rift enmity, hatred and ill-will between different classes and groups’.
The Tadepalli police have taken cognizance of the complaint and registered a case under several sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC)- 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 505 (2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes) and invoked section 125 (125. Promoting enmity between classes in connection with election) of Representations of People Act 1951.
Polling for simultaneous elections for the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and House of People (HOP) took place on May 13 while the counting is scheduled on June 4, 2024.