GHMC Elections: Congress Slams Sudden Hurry By TRS

The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) has demanded that the Election Commission give a week's time after the announcing of the reservations of the divisions in the GHMC, for people to study the reservations and file objections, observations and appeals on them.

Speaking to the media at Gandhi Bhavan on Wednesday, TPCC Chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the State government and TRS leaders were hijacking the election process to win the GHMC elections. The Election authorities were trying to announce the reservations of the divisions on January 7 and release the GHMC election notification on January 8 in order to complete the nomination process within three days and complete the elections within 15 days.

In protest, the TPCC president said that he appealed to Municipal Administration & Urban Development department principal secretary M G Gopal, GHMC election returning officer and GHMC Commissioner B Janardhan Reddy, and State Election Commissioner V Nagi Reddy to protect democracy as senior officers.

He alleged that it was not proper for them to finalize the reservations by sitting at their homes, and that they needed to explain the basis on which they prepared the list.

He also said that a person needed at least two days to get a caste certificate and other required certificates to contest an election. "How will a person be able to get these certificates and file his nomination within one day?" he asked.

He demanded that the Election Commission give at least a week's time to all political parties to study the reservations and appeal on them.

Also asking the State government how it would amend the Municipal Act 1955 without convening the Assembly, Reddy said that the State Cabinet had no right to amend any Act. "Only the Assembly or an ordinance can amend the Act," he said.

Reddy alleged that the State government was behaving like a monarch by "killing" democratic norms. He asked the officials behave in a democratic manner, and not to dance to the tunes of the ruling Party.

The TPCC chief also urged the media to protect democracy by exposing the ruling Party's undemocratic acts. "The media plays an important role in protecting democracy along with political parties," he said.

He added that the political parties would all honor whichever Party won the elections if the elections were held in a free and fair manner.