An objection raised by CPI(M) candidate Midiam Babu Rao against the caste of YSR Congress candidate Kothapalli Geetha was turned down by Returning Officer for Araku Parliamentary constituency and PO of ITDA (Paderu) P. Vinay Chand during scrutiny of nominations on Monday.
Dr. Babu Rao at a press conference held here in the morning along with party’s State secretariat member Ch. Narasinga Rao said that Ms. Geetha was a Mala Christian and not a tribal belonging to the Valmiki tribe as she claimed in her nomination papers.
When contacted, Mr. Vinay Kumar told The Hindu that following the complaint lodged by the CPI(M), a report was sought from Tahsildar of Addateegala in East Godavari regarding the caste certificate issued by the official. The Tahsildar replied that the caste certificate he issued to Ms. Geetha was genuine.
Mr. Vinay Kumar clarified that generally any complaint would be verified on two grounds -- whether the caste certificate submitted by the candidate was forged and whether it was issued by the competent authority i.e. Tahsildar. “A Returning Officer cannot go into the merit of the caste. We called for a report from the Tahsildar based on the complaint lodged against the candidate,” he said.
Earlier, Dr. Babu Rao and Mr. Narasinga Rao said that the Joint Collector of East Godavari after conducting an inquiry in October 1993 ruled that Ms. Geetha was not a Girijan and cancelled her social status certificate. She made an appeal to the High Court and got the Joint Collector’s orders squashed and after the Commissioner of Tribal Welfare and Joint Collector of East Godavari made an appeal, the Division Bench of the High Court ordered a fresh inquiry into the validity and legality of the caste certificate issued by the MRO (Tahsildar) in the name of Ms. Geetha and directed the Commissioner and Joint Collector to conduct a fresh inquiry into her social status. The matter was sub judice , Dr. Babu Rao said.
He and Mr. Narasinga Rao said that Ms. Geetha’s father lived in East Godavari Agency for several years and that did not entitle him to claim Girijan status. Ms. Geetha had not practised tribal customs and was baptised. She should not be allowed to contest and if she wins, and after her social status was not found to be ST, Ms. Geetha would move from one court to another to drag on the case and complete her term.
