Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwarlal refuted charges that there was delay in acting upon the directives issued by the Election Commission on registering a case against YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for his provocative comments against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu.
The CEO was reacting to the TDP’s charge that the CEO’s office had delayed action on the directive given by the Election Commission. The Election Commission in its notice on August 21 said the abusive and provocative language which had the effect of inciting violence during the election speech would amount to violation of model code of conduct and directed the authorities concerned to initiate action into the issue including filing the FIR against Mr. Jagan.
Asked about the delays, Mr. Bhanwarlal said his office received the direction after 6 pm on Monday and the copy was forwarded to the returning officer of Nandyal the same night. The returning officer, however, was busy making arrangements for the election and could not initiate any action on Tuesday and a notice had been sent to Mr. Jagan this morning. “The returning officer cannot delegate the crucial duty of election arrangements to others as he is the authorised officer,” he said.
There was also no truth in the claim that the CEO’s office had delayed in forwarding the complaint lodged by the TDP leaders on August 8 about Mr. Jagan’s provocative speech. The CEO’s office secured the CD of the speech and ensured that it was translated into English for the convenience of the ECI and forwarded the same for further action. “There is no delay on our part,” he asserted.
