I have YSR blessings: Nimmagada

State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar heaped praises on Andhra Pradesh former chief minister late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, saying that he had reached this position in his career due to the blessings of YSR. Nimmagadda gave the credit to YSR for having giving him the guts and freedom to speak truth in his life.

Nimmagadda toured in Kadapa district on Saturday and reminisced his association with YSR. He said that working with YSR brought about a turning point in his career. He recalled that he had worked as the finance secretary during YSR rule. YSR’s blessings are with me, he claimed.

He also said that YSR respected the Constitution and at the same time, he also expressed his opinion about various issues. YSR never violated the rules or showed his disregard to any system in the state. He said that he never faced difficulty in discharging his duties during his association with YSR.

The SEC said that he was witness to some incidents and hence, he was able to speak truth without any fear. He made it clear that nobody can prevent him from conducting the elections.

Elections are an integral part of democracy and democracy will survive only if elections are held on time, he said.

Further, he warned that people trying to push for unanimous election of sarpanches by force would be confined to their houses. “It is not good to go for unanimous elections in an extraordinary number of villages,” he pointed out.

He warned that shadow teams would be pressed into service to check the onslaught of individuals and political leaders forcing unanimous elections.

Nimmagadda also said that YSR was people-friendly and that elections were being held as per the Constitutional rules.

The SEC said that leaders of opposition parties need not fear harassment or violence during elections. Allegations are usually made against inefficient people and linking vested interests to elections is not fair, he said.

These remarks took the people and elected representatives in Andhra Pradesh by surprise as YSR’s son and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has been always at loggerheads with the SEC. Jagan had been opposing Nimmagadda since the latter cancelled elections to the ZPTC and MPTC constituencies last March.