The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) filed a complaint with the Election Commission on Sunday, alleging that the neighbouring government of Andhra Pradesh, where the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is presently in power, was attempting to influence the election in Telangana through advertisements.
A letter was handed over to the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rajat Kumar by TRS MLC and senior party leader Sreenivas Reddy.
“You are aware that the Government of Andhra Pradesh is giving advertisements in all leading Telugu TV channels in the state of Telangana in which the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is appealing to the people. He is the President of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the said party is contesting in the upcoming elections in this state, and as such, the advertisements will have its impact on the voters,” the complaint states.
The letter also said that though a similar complaint had been filed with the EC in the past, the Andhra Pradesh government was yet to stop airing the advertisements.
“It is requested to take action to ban all such advisements on TV, till the conclusion of the election,” it added.
Last month, the TRS had accused Naidu of exploiting Andhra’s police intelligence and using personnel to distribute cash in poll-bound Telangana state.
Addressing the media, caretaker IT Minister KT Rama Rao said, “Crores of Andhra Pradesh public money is wasted and spent here. While we are not allowed to do campaigns, the TDP, which is contesting in the elections, is allowed to publicise. The Election Commission should intervene and stop this.”
After bifurcation of the state, though several offices including the secretariat were shifted to Andhra Pradesh, the AP DGP office continues to function from Hyderabad. As per AP Reorganization Act, they are entitled to work from Hyderabad for a period of 10 years as it is a common capital of both states for the specified time period.