The Andhra Pradesh Government, on the 11th of April, issued notice regarding the appointment of Justice V. Kanagaraj, as the State Election Commissioner (SEC) of A.P.
The appointment of V. Kanagaraj, a former judge of the Madras High Court was approved by Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, the Governor of A.P.
On the 10th of April, Biswa Bhusan Harichandan approved the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj, 1994, (Second Amendment) Ordinance passed by the State Government. The ordinance passed includes amendments in change of the tenure, eligibility, and method of appointment of the SEC in A.P.
Soon after the approval from the State Governor, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) issued an official order regarding the appointment of Justice Kanagaraj.
Justice Kanagaraj took over the charges as the SEC of A.P., immediately after the release of the official orders on the morning of the 11th of April.
The appointment of Justice V. Kanagaraj came after N. Ramesh Kumar, the former SEC of A.P., was removed from the post after amendment in the Act. According to the ordinance, the tenure of the SEC was revised from 5 years to 3 years, eligibility would be any former Justice of any State HC instead of Principal Secretary of any State.
According to sources, the YSRCP Government removed N. Ramesh Kumar for halting the State Local bodies elections, scheduled from the 7th of March. The opposition parties like the JanaSena Party and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) criticised the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy led YSRCP for taking such decisions during the pandemic illness.
Chandrababu Naidu, the President of the TDP, wrote a letter to the State Governor deeming the ordinance as unethical and illegal.
Pawan Kalyan, the President of the JanaSena Party also criticised Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Chief Minister of A.P., for passing such ordinance in a situation like this.
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