BRS provokes RTC workers against Governor!

[Anta Assamey]

Strange as it might sound, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana on Saturday called for a strike by the state-run Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) employees to take up a lightning strike in protest against the delay in approving the draft bill on merger of RTC with the government by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.

According to sources, state transport minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar, on the instructions from the BRS top leadership, asked the representatives of Telangana Mazdoor union (TMU), affiliated to the BRS, to stall all bus services for two hours during the day and stage black-bade demonstrations.

“It is wrong on the part of the Governor to not approve the TSRTC Bill proposed by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to benefit 43,373 families of RTC employees,” TMU General Secretary Thomas Reddy said.

Wearing black badges, RTC employees gathered at bus depots and raised slogans demanding immediate decision be taken on the bill which was earlier sent by the State government for approval by the Governor.

The RTC employees’ unions also called for a march from PVNR Marg at Necklace Road to Raj Bhavan to stage a dharna to bring pressure on the Governor to approve the bill.

The Governor, however, tweeted that she was all for the welfare of RTC employees and she had only sought certain clarifications from the government to see that there would be no legal issues in the merger in the coming days.

She said she had asked for clarification on five points: The draft bill doesn’t have any details such as grants from central government, its shares and other assistance since 1958; there are no comprehensive details on changing the status of RTC as per Schedule IX of the AP Reorganisation Act;

Tamilisai also sought to know whether the Industrial Disputes Act and other labour laws would be applicable to the RTC workers, if they are treated on par with the other state government employees.

She further sought complete details clearly explaining whether the RTC employees would get all the benefits, including pension on par with the other state government employees.

She also asked for details on the promotions and cadre normalisation etc for the RTC employees if they become the government employees, since there are no such cadre in the government like conductor and controller.

“Unless there are clarifications from the government on these issues, the draft bill cannot be approved,” Raj Bhavan sources said.