HYDERABAD: Replying to Election Commission’s show cause notice on violation of model code of conduct during a public meeting, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday said it was a ‘slip of tongue’ and not a deliberate attempt to violate the poll code.“It was only due to a slip of tongue that my appeal to party workers conveyed a wrong meaning. My intention was to exhort each party worker to make 10 people vote for Congress (in the bypolls) by propagating the government schemes,” the chief minister clarified in his reply, submitted to the Election Commission on Thursday.The complaint against the chief minister was that during a public meeting in Rayadurg Assembly constituency in Anantapur district on May 18, he had asked each party worker to ‘cast 10 votes’ in the bypolls in favour of the Congress.According to sources in the chief minister’s office, Kiran Kumar Reddy’s reply was sent to the the Election Commission in New Delhi on Thursday with a copy marked to chief electoral officer Bhanwarlal.“The main intention was to urge each party worker to make ten people vote for the Congress by highlighting the welfare schemes such as interest free loans to SHGs, Re 1-kg-rice, Rajiv Yuva Kiranalu and others,’’ Kiran Reddy clarified in his reply.The Election Commission had slapped a notice to Kiran Reddy two days ago, seeking explanation on his remarks made at the Congress workers’ meeting in Rayadurgam last week.The YSRCP lodged a complaint against the chief minister accusing him of violating the poll code. Bhanwarlal said they have received the explanation letters from the chief minister and the TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao, which has been forwarded to the ECI.
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