The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to remove the blue, green and white colours associated with the ruling YSRCP, from the walls of panchayat offices and other government buildings. The court has given 10 days’ time for the government to change the colours, and has directed the Chief Secretary to submit a report on the implementation of the court’s directions, according to reports.
The court’s direction comes less than two weeks ahead of the local body polls in the state, for which the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) will soon be in place. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a man named Muppa Venkateswara Rao, from Pallapadu village in Guntur district, who had earlier approached the court objecting to the painting of the panchayat office in his village with the colours of the YSRCP party flag. With the local body polls soon approaching, more PILs were filed on the same issue, Times of India reported.
According to ToI, the Additional Advocate General while arguing on behalf of the state government, said that the shade and pattern of the colours painted on government buildings were different from the YSRCP’s party colours. The affidavit filed by the state government also reportedly claimed that the colours were meant for people to easily identify the ward and village secretariat buildings, where government services are available.
On Friday, the opposition TDP wrote to the State Election Commissioner (SEC) regarding the same issue. Stating that the YSRCP’s party colours on the panchayat office walls violated the MCC, TDP state president Kala Venkata Rao had said that the YSRCP government had painted "gram panchayat buildings, school buildings, road dividers, electric poles and other public structures in its over-excitement."
Earlier in December, while hearing Venkateswara Rao’s petition, the court had directed the state government to avoid painting government buildings with colours associated with political parties, observing that this could influence voters during elections. Reports at the time said that the PIL objected to the painting of panchayat offices and other government buildings, terming the move “unconstitutional, arbitrary and illegal”, as these buildings were public property.