VIJAYAWADA: Government employees are up in arms against State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar announcing the election schedule for holding of the local body polls. They have warned that they may boycott election duties keeping in view safety of employees owing to Coronavirus pandemic.
APNGOs Association president K. Chandrasekhar Reddy has objected to the (SEC) threatening employees of action in case they shun polls over safety and protection of government staff.
The swift response of government employees came within hours of Ramesh Kumar issuing a notification for the four-phase panchayat polls. Employee representatives said there are nearly 10 lakh employees in the state and they would like to see how many of them the SEC would terminate.
Association president Chandrasekhar Reddy said AP government employees have risked their lives to control Coronavirus. Instead of appreciating them, the SEC is threatening to terminate and suspend employees in case they oppose the polls.
He drew attention to special care Ramesh Kumar had taken while addressing the media. A glass partition was fixed on his table and he wore a mask to protect himself from the virus. The employee leader said, "While addressing media, you spoke from behind a glass shield. All people in the state have watched it. When you think your life so important, how can you not care for our lives? Should we discharge election duties and lose our lives," he asked.
The AP NGOs chief warned that if SEC goes ahead with panchayat polls, chaos may prevail across the state. He appealed to the SEC that the notification be cancelled. He assured Ramesh Kumar that they would willingly undertake election duties after receiving vaccination.
