Vijayawada: Highlighting the selective leak of CCTV footage from a polling booth in Macherla, YSR Congress general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy has said the Election Commission should explain how the leak occurred.
He said the video of Pinneli Ramakrishna Reddy was leaked while the visuals of several incidents of Telugu Desam leaders vandalising the voting machines elsewhere did not see the light of day.
Sajjala said the electoral body stopped behaving in a ‘fair and non-partisan’ manner after the TD formed a tripartite opposition alliance with the BJP and the Jana Sena ahead of the May 13 elections.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Ramakrishna Reddy asked why the CCTV footage of TD violence and attacks on the polling day did not come out.
“Everyone is aware of what was happening in the matches for the last 15 days. Macherla MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy is the target of the conspiracy.The TD and its friendly media are creating chaos with Macherla as the central point,” he said.
Ramakrishna Reddy alleged that unfortunately, after the NDA alliance was formed in the state, the Election Commission seemed to have been infected with the Chandrababu virus. The manner in which the Election Commission was acting raised suspicions across the state, he said.
Ramakrishna Reddy said the EC was tight-lipped on how the video came out in relation to the Macherla incidents. He demanded that all videos of all the incidents that happened in the elections should be released.
EVMs were destroyed in many places in Macherla itself. TD attacked our party members in the Palwai Gate area and terrorized the common people. Why is TD not asking for re-polling in Macherla region, he asked.
Ramakrishna Reddy said that the TD was involved in rigging those polling stations and hence it was keeping silent.
He found fault with the local police inspector for keeping silent for ten days, so as to divert the court’s attention. Even after the court verdict, cases are being filed to arrest Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy. Even after obtaining bail, Pinnelli is being prevented from coming to Narasaraopet. Why is there so much conspiracy against Macherla MLA? There is suspicion that the Election Commission and the police are acting as Chandrababu's remote control, he said.
He added, “The establishment and the Election Commission are acting unilaterally in favour of Chandrababu while the YSRC stands by the victims of the poll-related violence. We want the EC to act impartially at the time of counting. Chandrababu has allied with BJP with the aim of managing the systems.”
