The Supreme Court judgement refusing to interfere in the postponement of elections to local bodies in Andhra Pradesh has made one wonder whether it came in favour of or against the YSR Congress party government in the state.
While the State Election Commission has not made any comment on the Supreme Court verdict, both the ruling YSRC and the opposition parties have indulged in a slugfest.
The YSRC leaders said the verdict was on the slap on the face of the SEC and the opposition Telugu Desam Party said it was actually a slap on the face of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
The fact remains that the Supreme Court has upheld the decision of State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar to postpone the elections on account of Coronavirus scare. The court also acknowledged the seriousness of the virus threat.
At the same time, the court also found fault with the state election commission for continuing the model code of conduct while cancelling the original election schedule.
When the elections are not going to be held for another six weeks, where is the need for implementing the model code of conduct, the court asked.
It also wondered whether the SEC wants the entire state to come to a standstill. It said the code could be re-imposed when the revised schedule is announced and it can be enforced four weeks prior to the completion of election process. In a way, it is a snub to the SEC.
YSRC spokesman Ambati Rambabu claimed the SC had seen a political motive behind the SEC’s decision to postpone the elections.
The fact is that it was only referring to the allegations made by the state government’s counsel and the judges did not attribute any motives to the SEC.
Ambati said the SEC had clearly overstepped its limits in postponing the election process of local bodies and continuing the model code of conduct.
He also claimed that the SC had sought to know why the SEC did not consult the state government before postponing the elections due to Coronavirus scare.
But the fact is that the court only said the SEC should consult the state government while announcing the revised schedule after six weeks.
TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu accused the YSRC of distorting the SC judgement and said it was actually a setback for the YSRC.
“We are not interested in postponing the elections, but want complete cancellation of the polls so that the entire process be held again,” he demanded.