A petition has been filed in the First Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court here on Friday for prosecuting Minister for Secondary Education K. Parthasarathi for failing to provide the needed information in the election affidavit.
The RDO filed the petition in the court on the direction of the Election Commission for prosecuting the minister under the Peoples Representation Act.
It might be mentioned here that Parthasarathi had been sentenced by a court some time back for FERA violations. It was alleged that he had not revealed about the case pertaining to this being pending in the court when he filed his nomination papers for contesting the 2009 elections.
The Election Commission which inquired into the matter found there was a prima facie case in this regard and directed the RDO take necessary action. Accordingly the RDO filed the petition in the court for the prosecution of the Minister.
Parthasarathy is the third member of the Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet to be put in the dock for alleged worn doings. The then Minister for Excise Mopidei Venkataraman is already cooling his heels in the jail in connection with the disproportionate assets case of Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. He had already resigned from the cabinet which was accepted. Another member of the cabinet, Roads and Buildings Minister Dharmana Prasada has been put on the chopping block after the CBI has included his name in the charge sheet in the case. He too has resigned on moral grounds but no decision has been taken so far on it b y the Chief Minister.
Now with the Election Commission directing the RDO to prosecute him and a petition filed in the court in this regard, it has to be seen whether he too would resign on moral grounds or whether the Chief Minister suo moto initiate any action(NSS).