YSRCP complains against Eenadu, Prashant Kishor, RTV for poll code breach

AMARAVATI: The YSR Congress Party filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India, seeking action against TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu, RTV, and Eenadu newspapers, accusing them of violating the Model Code of Conduct for the simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly.

A delegation of YSRCP leaders, including MLA Malladi Vishnu, Legal Cell President Manohar Reddy, and Grievance Cell President Narayana Murthy, submitted three petitions to the ECI on Sunday.

In their complaint against Chandrababu Naidu, the YSRCP leaders accused the TDP chief of making personal, inappropriate comments using derogatory and unparliamentary language against Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in campaign meetings in Chittoor and Nandyal.

Manohar Reddy said the YSRCP had lodged 230 complaints against Chandrababu Naidu with the ECI. However, the ECI failed to take action on any, giving rise to speculation that the Commission was not acting against Naidu due to his alliance with the BJP. In contrast, the Commission swung into action on complaints lodged by the leaders of the TDP-JS-BJP alliance. Action was taken when Tollywood star Allu Arjun came to Nandyal. However, no action was taken when Ram Charan campaigned at Pithapuram. He alleged that the ECI was not acting impartially.

The YSRCP also demanded action against the RTV channel, news anchor Ravi Prakash, and poll strategist Prashant Kishor for broadcasting an interview that violated election rules and aimed to influence the election results. RTV aired Prashant Kishor's interview on Sunday (May 12) around 12 p.m., defying the ECI ban on election-related content.

Manohar Reddy alleged, "Kishore, with malicious intent, made baseless statements against YSRCP party leaders in the interview."

Regarding Eenadu, they alleged that the Telugu daily published an editorial in the Vijayawada main edition on Sunday (May 12) to malign and defame Jagan Mohan Reddy. The article contained multiple false and misleading statements, including that under the YSRCP's rule, no developmental activities were undertaken, people's wealth was destroyed, and they were made alcoholics. It also accused the YSRCP leaders of land grabbing.

"People are very alert. People will give a definite verdict on May 13 at the time of polling," Narayana Murthy said.