Hyderabad: State Congress president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has been confined to his house in Huzurnagar by the returning officer of the assembly segment in view of polling on Monday.
The action was taken in response to complaints from a TRS leader that Mr Reddy, an outsider to the constituency area, was staying within the assembly segment, which is not permissible under the Election Code of Conduct, which stipulates that all outsiders leave the constituency before commencement of polling, which is slated to begin at 7 am on Monday.
M. Srinivasa Reddy, general secretary, TRS, complained to the state chief electoral officer and the RO, stating that Mr Reddy had mentioned that he was a resident of Kodad town in his election affidavit for the Lok Sabha elections, and therefore, his stay in the Huzurnagar was illegal. Following the complaint, the election officer reached the Huzurnagar residence of the TPCC chief and asked him to vacate the place.
Mr Amoy Kumar, district collector, Suryapet, and returning officer of the constituency, told Deccan Chronicle that since he was a MP from Nalgonda and Huzurnagar was one of the Assembly segments under it, he was permitted to stay in his residence, but his moments would have to be restricted to his residence on the day of the election.
Mild tension prevailed at the residence of Uttam Kumar Reddy in Huzurnagar when the police and election officers surrounded it and asked him to leave the place. The TPCC president refused to vacate the place and told authorities that he has had the house in Huzurnagar since decades. He argued that he was living in the home, and being MP of Nalgonda Lok Sabha, he had every right to stay there.
The officials relented, and allowed him to stay on, but the RO deployed security personnel to ensure he could not move out of his house till polling ended Monday evening.
