Andhra Pradesh State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar has filed a complaint with the Vijayawada police over fake news being circulated in his name, and declaring that the new schedule for the local body elections have been announced. The elections, which were initially scheduled to be held in March, have been postponed indefinitely because of the pandemic.
The State Election Commission (SEC) has since clarified that it has not issued any notification regarding local body polls. Cybercrime Inspector K Shivaji told The New Indian Express that the message which was attributed to Ramesh Kumar first surfaced on WhatsApp, and then made its way onto a few websites. He also said that efforts are on to trace the original sender of the message.
According to Times of India, Ramesh Kumar has said that the false message is a motivated move, and part of a “disinformation campaign” against the Election Commission in the state. Suryaraopet police have registered a case against unknown persons under Section 505 (statements conducive to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Notices have been reportedly issued to the web portals that had put out the false post, asking them to remove the posts and to name the persons responsible for the post.
Ramesh Kumar had initially decided to postpone the polls by a period of six weeks. The announcement was followed by a series of controversies and a public spat between the SEC and the ruling YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh. Ramesh Kumar was even removed as the SEC, and later reinstated after he moved the High Court.
In April, the YSRCP government had promulgated an ordinance to shorten the tenure of the SEC, forcing Ramesh Kumar to step down as the Election Commissioner. He was replaced by Retired Madras High Court judge Justice V Kanagaraj.
The YSRCP government has alleged several times that Ramesh Kumar was allied with the opposition TDP, and was acting on the behest of TDP leaders.