Jagan accuses AP police of political harassment, calls for new ZPTC polls in Pulivendula, Ontimitta

Tadepalli: Former Chief Minister and YSRCP President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has demanded fresh elections under the supervision of Central forces and in a fair manner, alleging that the polls held for Pulivendula and Ontimitta ZPTCs on August 12 were just a ‘mockery of democracy’.

YSRCP to move court to cancel elections

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, he said the elections that were held on Tuesday have just heckled at the democratic spirit as all YSRCP agents were driven away along with party sympathisers whose forms and slips were snatched and torn away.

YSRCP ZPTC candidates are here to move the court seeking to cancel the elections, he said.

Describing the election as the most atrocious and undemocratic, Jagan said, CM Chandrababu Naidu has set a very bad precedent which is dangerous to democracy, and the spirit of elections is lost by such nefarious deeds, as they were held under the cover and shield of police and outsiders taking over the booths and resorting to large-scale rigging.

‘Police at booths terrorised voters’

Jagan alleged that for about 10,600 votes in 15 booths, 700 police were deployed, not to ensure peaceful elections but to terrorise voters, and the jumbling method employed by shifting polling booths was only to threaten voters midway or send them back.

Showing the clippings of identified active TDP workers from Jammalamadugu and other areas participating in voting and locals expressing anguish for not being allowed to vote, he said, even the Pulivendula ZPTC candidate was kept under house arrest

‘Police behaved like TDP agents’

He said MP YS Avinash Reddy was arrested even though he was outside the election area.

He said that the police behaved like TDP agents by allowing TDP cadre from anywhere to roam freely while obstructing genuine voters on the pretext that they were with the YSRCP. He alleged that the TDP MLAs and leaders from outside were supervising the elections with their followers.

Jagan alleged that the police were handpicked to act in a totally biased manner to please CM Naidu.

‘YSRCP polling agents harassed’

“This cannot be called an election as YSRCP polling agents, who played an important role in the election process, right from verifying the voters’ list, identifying the voters, to complaining about fake voters and sealing the ballot boxes, were not allowed and their authorisation forms were snatched and torn,” Jagan stated.

“This is a dangerous trend, as the State Election Commission did not consider our complaints on the atrocities, violence and police bias, and did not respond to our pleas to make public the CCTV footage. We will be moving the court as well,” he said.