Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kishan Reddy confirmed on Friday that the Ministry of Home Affairs did indeed receive a letter from Andhra Pradesh State Election Commissioner (SEC) N Ramesh Kumar seeking protection from central forces. The letter, which surfaced on Wednesday, kicked up a controversy because of its contents, loaded with allegations against the YSRCP government and the Andhra police.
“Yes, the letter has been received by the Union Home Secretary. The Home Secretary has talked to the Chief Secretary there (Andhra Pradesh),” Kishan Reddy said. Stating that the issue is the Andhra state government’s internal matter, he said, “However, when any government official is performing his duty, no one should threaten them. As far as we know, he himself has written the letter, though we are yet to hear from him. If he feels unsafe, the responsibility to provide additional security cover is on the state government.” He added that he would discuss the matter with Director General of Police (DGP) Gautam Sawang, and write to Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, if needed.
The letter by Andhra SEC Ramesh Kumar came in the backdrop of a bitter disagreement between the SEC and state government over the postponement of local body elections. The letter heaped several allegations on the ruling YSRCP, blaming party workers and leaders, and Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy for various incidents of violence reported to have occurred in the initial stages of the election process. The letter also alleged that the local police officers and district officials were complicit in these incidents by allowing them to happen.
Claiming that the SEC’s decision to postpone the local body polls in light of the coronavirus pandemic had infuriated the ruling party, the letter said that there was a threat from YSRCP leaders and workers to the SEC’s life and his family.
However, confusion prevailed over the authenticity of the letter for the past two days. With Ramesh Kumar remaining silent on the matter, neither confirming nor denying to the media that he wrote the letter, YSRCP leaders alleged that the contents of the letter seemed to have come from the opposition TDP. While YSRCP alleged that media outlets in favour of TDP were the ones who had widely publicised the letter, news agency ANI on Wednesday had claimed in a tweet that Ramesh Kumar had denied writing the letter.
On the same day, BJP State President Kanna Lakshminarayana also wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the same subject, similarly requesting high level security for Ramesh Kumar and alleging that various YSRCP leaders had been abusing and threatening the SEC.
Meanwhile, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) team was reportedly deployed at the SEC’s office in Vijayawada on Thursday.
Confirming that the letter was received by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Kishan Reddy said that Ramesh Kumar is in Hyderabad at present, where he has been provided security. “Whenever he visits Andhra Pradesh, we have told the Chief Secretary that the state government must provide full security cover,” he said.