The Election Commission suspended 106 government employees in Siddipet district of Telangana for allegedly violating model code of conduct by attending a BRS meeting. According to official sources, many government employees took part in the meeting at a function hall on April 7. The action was initiated following a complaint from the BJP.
Venkatram Reddy, the BRS candidate for Medak Lok Sabha constituency, organized the election meeting. He used to be an IAS officer and served as Siddipet collector during the BRS regime. After retiring in November 2021, he transitioned into real estate businessman and joined the BRS party. In December 2021, he became an MLC. Now, he's contesting in the Medak Lok Sabha election as a BRS candidate.
According to a report on PTI, based on the information from BRS workers, a flying squad visited the meeting venue. Upon the arrival of the flying squad, many employees fled from the location.
Later, the workers who fled the spot were identified by combing CCTV footage.
On Monday night, the District Collector, M Manu Choudary, who also serves as the district election officer, issued orders, resulting in the suspension of 106 employees, according to sources.
The 106 workers were from District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Siddipet. They also included 38 working in Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty and 68 Employment Guarantee Scheme.
The model code of conduct came into force in Telangana on March 16.
Meanwhile, Telangana is set to vote in a single phase on May 13 for Lok Sabha elections. The list of Lok Sabha seats in Telangana include Adilabad, Peddapalle, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Zahirabad, Medak, Malkajgiri, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Chevella, Nagarkurnool, Warangal and Khammam among others. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BRS emerged as the major party by securing nine seats.