N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (AP,) on the 5th of April, dared the Central Government to arrest him.
The reaction of Mr. Naidu came after the Election Commission of India (ECI,) on the 5th of April, replaced Anil Chandra Punetha, the Chief Secretary of AP.
Mr. Naidu, on the 5th of April, addressed a roadshow in Visakhapatnam and said, “First they (ECI) transferred a district Collector. Then the Intelligence DG and two district SPs and now the CS. Why? They did not give any reasons.” He further said, “They may also arrest me tomorrow or day after. I am prepared to go to jail. I will fight from there itself (sic.)”
However, G.V.L. Narasimha Rao, a Member of Parliament (MP) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP,) criticised Naidu and said, Anil Chandra Punetha was a ‘scapegoat’ of the TDP.
L.V. Subrahmanyam, a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1983 cadre batch, replaced Anil Chandra Punetha as the new Chief Secretary of AP.
This is not the first time the ECI took such a decision, which the TDP considers as a major setback.
Recently, the ECI ordered the transfer of three Indian Public Service (IPS) officers, who were alleged of working for the Naidu led TDP, ahead of the AP Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Andhra Pradesh will contest a total of 175 seats and 25 seats in the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections respectively. The Andhra Pradesh Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are scheduled on the 11th of April.
The major parties contesting in Andhra Pradesh are the YSRCP, the TDP and the JanaSena Party.
The results of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be announced on the 23rd of May 2019.
Stay tuned for further updates about the AP Assembly and Lok Sabha elections
