The Election Commission in Andhra Pradesh has ordered for an enquiry by its Scrutiny Committee, headed by Joint Collector of Guntur District, Dinesh Kumar, into the caste status of YSRCP MLA Vundavalli Sridevi.
Sridevi, who was elected in a seat, reserved for the SC category, has to appear before the authorities on November 26 along with documents to prove her caste status.
The EC issued the orders based on a complaint by one Santosh from the Legal Rights Protection Forum, who wrote to President Ramnath Kovind and the commission, and demanded action against Sridevi for 'falsely' claiming that she belonged to the SC caste. Santosh alleged that the legislator from Tadikonda had said in an interview that she was a Christian.
Both Santosh and Sridevi will now have to appear before the committee and make their case, following which a final report will be submitted to the EC.
Sridevi was in the news earlier this year, after dominant caste men, allegedly belonging to the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), insulted her when she had gone to a Ganesh pandal to perform a puja in Amaravati during Ganesh Chaturthi.
The MLA and her supporters alleged that as she reached the pandal and the priest started performing rituals, the accused allegedly shouted at her and used filthy language, saying she should not touch the Ganesh idol, as she would 'defile' it.
The MLA then lodged a complaint with the Director General of Police Gautam Sawang and also the Guntur Superintendent of Police. A case was registered at the Thulluru police station in Guntur district. Four people were later arrested.