'Candidates winning panchayat polls with TDP support will ensure temple safety': Naidu

Ahead of the Gram Panchayat elections in Andhra Pradesh, opposition leader and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday stated that sarpanches who would win the gram panchayat elections with his party's support will ensure the safety of places of worship in the State. This statement by the TDP chief has come in view of the recent multiple incidents of vandalism of temples and deity idols in the State.

Targeting the YSRCP led dispensation, Naidu said, "125 attacks on temples took place in YSRCP regime. Only after my visit to Ramateertham, the State government took action. Sarpanches who will win with TDP support will take care of the safety of places of worship."

Naidu promised that the candidates supported by TDP will work to achieve the agenda set in the manifesto by the party which includes safe drinking water and reduction in the property tax among others.

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The State government and the State Election Commission (SEC) are seemingly at loggerheads over the decision on whether to conduct Gram Panchayat polls. The SEC issued the poll notification under which Gram Panchayat polls were said to be held in four phases on February 5, 9, 13 and 17. The notification from SEC had come just a day after the State government opposed to the conduct of the polls and asked the SEC to differ the polls while contending that the time was not right to hold the elections. However, the SEC then postponed the first phase of the elections to February 21 instead of the original plan of February 5, while no changes have been done in other phases.

"The Panchayat Raj Minister is speaking in an atrocious manner against the State Election Commissioners (SEC). He should be sacked immediately,'' added Naidu on the alleged tussle between the state government and SEC.

YSRCP has also insisted on making the gram panchayat elections unanimous, he alleged while adding that the "elections are not unanimous by choice of the people, but the ruling party is threatening to make polls unanimous."

"They tried to make local body elections unanimous. Even now, the same thing may recur at the time of the gram panchayat elections," Naidu alleged.

In the local body elections held last year, Naidu alleged that 23 per cent of Mandal and 19 per cent of Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies elections became unanimous.

"Never in the history of Andhra Pradesh, had so many elections become unanimous," he said while adding that the ruling government had misused both power and police.

Naidu appealed to the people of Andhra Pradesh to come forward and vote for the candidates supported by TDP. He further alleged that the people from the scheduled castes and tribes, other backward classes and minority groups are being suppressed with exerting force.

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