EC opposes Andhra assembly resolution against Feb local body polls, asserts its autonomy

A day after Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed a resolution opposing the conduct of local body elections to local bodies in February 2021, the State Election Commission, N Ramesh Kumar on Saturday said that this resolution is 'against the spirit of the Constitution'. In a letter written to Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan, Ramesh Kumar said that as per Article 243K of the Constitution, State EC is an autonomous institution and conducting local body elections is its responsibility.

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Andhra Pradesh passes resolution against holding local-body polls

The resolution said, "While assembly recognises with respect the independence of the constitutional bodies specifically conferred with powers, it notes that unilateral decisions without considering bonafide concerns of the government would be inconsistent with the constitutional scheme."

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Earlier on Friday, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly had passed this resolution by suggesting that the current COVID-19 situation is not conducive for the state to conduct the February 2021 elections amid COVID-19 pandemic. The resolution passed by the state assembly demanded that EC should add certain legal provisions in the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act 1994 and successive rules to manage public health issues should be introduced. 

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Andhra Pradesh's COVID-19 tally 

As the world continues to battle against the Coronavirus pandemic, Andhra Pradesh so far has recorded over 8,71,305 positive cases, out of which 8,58,115 have successfully recovered while 7,024 have died. As per the latest reports from MoHFW, in the past 24 hours, 630 new cases, 4 deaths and 882 recoveries have been reported. Currently, the total number of active COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh is 6,166. 

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