EC removes Vikarabad SP over Congress leader's arrest in Telangana
New Delhi/Hyderabad, Dec 5 : The Election Commission on Wednesday ordered the removal of Superintendent of Police of Telangana's Vikarabad district over the arrest of Congress' A Revanth Reddy as the police observer found his detention "unwarranted".
An official communication issued by Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar in Hyderabad said, "The Election Commission of India has ordered the transfer of Smt T Annapurna, IPS, SP Vikarabad, immediately and posted Sri Avinash Mohanthy IPS ( RR 2005) in place of her with immediate effect."
It is also directed that Annapurna's services are not utilised for election purpose, the order said. The commission has also directed that Annapurna be attached to the police headquarters, an EC functionary said in New Delhi.
The observers are deployed by the EC to keep an eye on various issues related to elections.
In the early hours of Tuesday, the Vikarabad police had taken Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee working president Reddy into preventive custody citing law and order issues.
Reddy's arrest came ahead of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao 's meeting at Kodangal.
Reddy had given a Kodangal bandh call and asked the party workers to stage protests across the constituency against the visit of the chief minister.
He was let off, but only after Rao's meeting at Kosigi in the assembly segment got over.
Condemning the police action, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had said the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government resorted to it "due to fear of defeat."
Telangana goes to polls on December 7.
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No more street vending on B’luru’s main roads, as govt plans to bring new policy for street hawkers
Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday said that the state government has decided to formulate a new policy for footpaths in Bengaluru, under which street vending will not be allowed on main roads and sub-main roads.
Addressing the media after a budget preparation meeting and executive meeting of GBA corporations at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said discussions were held with MLAs from the GBA region regarding the corporations’ budgets and key civic issues.
Leader of Opposition R. Ashok also participated in the meeting and shared his views. Officials from multiple departments, including police, BESCOM, BMRCL, BWSSB and BDA, along with ministers and legislators, were present.
He stated that all five municipalities have prepared their individual budgets, while MLAs have submitted their demands, including calls for ward-wise grants.
“We have decided to bring a new policy for footpaths. Citizens are struggling to walk as footpaths are encroached upon by street vendors,” Shivakumar said.
Highlighting the need to balance livelihoods and public convenience, he added that “a separate space will be provided for street vendors, and specific roads will be designated for their business,” ensuring that pedestrians can use footpaths without obstruction. He noted that there was unanimous agreement among MLAs on this approach.
Issuing a warning to vendors, Shivakumar said that authorities will act against those violating the rules. “If vendors operate during the day and leave their carts on the roadside at night, authorities will clear them. People should be aware of this,” he said.
Providing data on street vendors, he said that around 60,000 vendors have registered so far, of which 30,000 have applied for vehicles, and a tender has already been floated.
“Only those with street vendor identity cards will be allowed to do business. Those without ID cards will not be permitted to operate on the streets,” he added.
