CM Jagan sacks SEC, appoints retired HC judge to post
Even Covid-19 triggered medical emergency couldn’t lockdown the fast-paced politics in Andhra Pradesh as Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has promulgated an ordinance sacking State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, an appointee of previous TDP regime, and appointed retired Madras High Court judge Justice V. Kanagaraj to the post on Saturday.
Ramesh Kumar, former IAS officer, was shown the door by the Jagan government as it had brought in an ordinance on Friday curtailing the tenure of the SEC from the existing five years to three years with immediate effect. Ramesh Kumar, who was appointed to the post by the previous Chandrababu Naidu government in 2016, was supposed to demit office on 1 April 2021. Ramesh Kumar, who holds a Constitutional post, was locked in a controversy by postponing elections to municipalities and Panchayat Raj bodies on 15 March, on account of the raging coronavirus threat. The SEC has announced the election schedule on 7 March and polling was to be held on 23 March. But, Ramesh Kumar had put off the poll process, evoking angry reactions from Chief Minister Jagan and the ruling party.
In his postponement order, Ramesh Kumar not just put off the poll process, but also removed two SPS and two district collectors, besides some police officers for their failure to prevent election linked violence in their jurisdiction. Apparently, the suspension of these officials was based on the complaints lodged by the opposition TDP leaders, a few days earlier.
Chief Minister Jagan himself led a frontal attack on SEC Ramesh Kumar, alleging that his actions were unilateral and arbitrary. The CM even mentioned the fact that Ramesh Kuamr was from the community of former CM Naidu. This led to a no-holds-barred verbal war between the ruling and opposition parties, while both the CM and the SEC complained against each other before Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan. Later, Ramesh Kumar wrote to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, seeking protection as he perceived threats to his life in Andhra Pradesh and quickly packed his bags from Amaravati and reached Hyderabad in Telangana. Since then, he was operating from Hyderabad, but the Andhra Pradesh government has stopped taking cognizance of him. On 10 April, the government brought an ordinance cutting short the SEC’S tenure to three years. Governor Harichandan signed the ordinance and issued a gazette notification, too, by the same night. Then, the government issued an order (GO) sacking Ramesh Kumar and another one appointing Justice (Retired) Kanagaraj. Kanagaraj assumed office on Saturday morning and called on Governor Harichandan at Raj Bhavan in Vijayawada.
The salient features of the ordinance stipulated that a retired judge of HC can be appointed as SEC for a term of three years and the person can hold the office for a maximum period of two terms. Earlier, the post was to be filled by a civil servant (retired or serving) with principal secretary rank. The ordinance also paved way for appointment of multi-member SEC to hold the local body elections. Ramesh Kumar on Saturday announced that he would move the courts challenging his sacking which he termed as “unconstitutional”. Former CM Naidu and other TDP leaders termed the sudden promulgation of the ordinance and removal of Ramesh Kumar as “politics of vendetta”. “What is the need for these sacking and appointments when the country is passing through Covid crisis?” Naidu asked. It is clear that there is no scope of holding the postponed local body elections in Andhra Pradesh until the Covid triggered emergency situation comes to normalcy, which may take a lot more time. But, the CM’S decision to sack Ramesh Kumar in a hurry seems to be prompted by reports that he may scrap the entire poll process and commence it afresh as was demanded by the opposition TDP.