India
In a meeting, Jaganmohan Reddy sought deletion of about 60 lakh duplicate votes allegedly created by the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led government in Andhra Pradesh
New Delhi: YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday urged the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora to conduct the parliamentary elections in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on the same day as many people are registered to votes in both the states.
At a meeting, Reddy sought deletion of about 60 lakh duplicate votes allegedly created by the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led government in Andhra Pradesh.
He also complained to Arora that Chandrababu Naidu's government has allegedly parked Rs 4,000-5,000 crore illegal money in all 175 constituencies in the state for distribution to voters during the elections due in April-May.
"The TDP government is doing everything in its power to destroy democracy and steal the election. I met the CEC and informed him about the various ways in which the current government is undermining the electoral process. I requested him to intervene in the matter and ensure free and fair elections in the state," Reddy told reporters after the meeting in New Delhi.
"After the bifurcation, many people still have their votes in both the states. The CEC has been requested to hold the elections in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on the same day so that such voters cast their vote in one state," he said.
Alleging that the duplicate voters list in the state is rising, Reddy, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, said, "Out of 369 lakh voters in the state, nearly 60 lakh voters are invalid or duplicate at present and that need to be deleted to ensure a fair election."
In the meeting, the YSRCP chief informed about the alleged misrule of the TDP government in the last four years and eight months, and how the state government has regulated corruption and misused the police force.
Reddy informed the CEC that the police officers belonging to a particular community who are the TDP supporters had been given out of turn promotions, while others are being denied essential posts.
"Such favoured police officers are being used to illegally tap phones of political leaders, conduct a caste-based census of serving police officers, gather political intelligence, booking illegal cases, harassing the opposition," he alleged.
He also informed in the meeting that some of the senior officers are being removed from election duty.
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