ECI Suspends 106 Govt Staff for Attending BRS Meet

 Hyderabad: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has suspended 106 government employees in Siddipet district for attending an election meeting of BRS Medak Lok Sabha candidate P. Venkatram Reddy, in violation of the model code of conduct for the upcoming polls.

Siddipet district election officer and collector M. Manu Chowdary issued orders on Tuesday suspending the 106 staffers of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Siddipet. They included 38 working in SERP (Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty) and 68 EGS (Employment Guarantee Scheme) employees. These employees attended the BRS meeting at Reddy Function Hall in Siddipet on April 7.

The action was taken after BJP's Medak Lok Sabha candidate M. Raghunandan Rao lodged a complaint with the ECI. He submitted a complaint to the assistant returning officer and revenue divisional officer over the phone that DRDA staff was attending a meeting of the BRS in connection with the Lok Sabha elections and that money was being distributed.

A flying squad team visited the venue and found 10-15 persons still in the meeting. It collected the CCTV footage from the management and found that BRS organised the meeting without obtaining permission from assistant returning officer, Siddipet. A case was booked against BRS leaders P. Venkatrami Reddy and Siddipet Urban Development Authority former chairman Mareddy Ravinder Reddy for holding the meeting without permission.

Former IAS officer Venkatrama Reddy, now a real estate businessman, had worked as Siddipet collector for several years during the BRS regime, took VRS in November 2021 and joined the BRS. He was nominated as MLC in December 2021 and he is contesting the Medak Lok Sabha election on a BRS ticket.