THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after the KSRTC employees staged a flash strike demanding the release of three employees taken into police custody which claimed a life of a commuter in the capital, two prominent leaders in the LDF locked horn over the issue.
CPM leader and Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendaran said the lightening strike of the KSRTC employees cannot be justified and action would be initiated against those involved in the strike. He also said the state government would help the family of Surendran who died amid the strike on Wednesday.
At the same time, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran has justified the stance of the KSRTC employees while criticizing the police. Justifying the employees' action of parking the buses in the middle of the road during the strike, he wondered if the buses can be parked in the sky other than parking them on the roads.
The police have worsened the situation and the employees were forced to take to the streets as the police failed to solve the issue after two hours. But Kadkampallu Surendran has flayed the employees in strong terms saying that their act was irresponsible. They presented untold sufferings to the public even as the state government is struggling hard to save the KSTC by feeding the ailing corporation from the public exchequer.
But they have shown that they have no social commitment. That is why they parked the buses haphazardly in the road blocking the traffic, apart from striking the duty. The state government is committed to taking action against them, he said.
Meanwhile, the police handed over a list of around 50 employees who blocked the traffic by parking buses in the middle of the road to the transport commissioner. According to sources, action would be initiated against the culprits including cancelling licence of the employees based on the report of the district collector, who reportedly suggested to invoke the provisions of the Essential Services Maintenance Act against employees of public transport corporation.
The Opposition members have walked out of the Kerala assembly in protest against the delay in taking action against the employees involved in the strike. A 60-year-old passenger died and thousands were left stranded for over five hours in the capital on Wednesday when employees of the KSRTC went on a flash strike demanding the release of three personnel of the transport undertaking taken into custody by the police.