HYDERABAD: Police went on a security overdrive on the 44th day of TSRTC strike in a bid to avoid a revisit of Chalo Tank Bund protests and took TSRTC JAC leaders E Ashwathama Reddy and Raji Reddy into preventive detention from their respective homes.
The duo was on an indefinite hunger strike from Saturday.
The TSRTC JAC leaders were cooped up in their homes along with some RTC staff and were continuing with their indefinite strike when police gheraoed their homes.
In dramatic scenes, police first went to Raji Reddy’s home in LB Nagar and broke open the door.
A visibly agitated Raji Reddy raised slogans and said it was a sad day for democracy.
“Shame on this government and shame on the CM for these excesses,” said Reddy before he was forcibly taken into custody.
Raji Reddy was roughed up by the police for the second time in two days.
In a similar crackdown, police locked up TSRTC JAC convenor Ashwathama Reddy in his own house located in Hastinapur for three to four hours before taking him into custody.
“We have now withdrawn the demand for merger of RTC with the government, yet the government is misleading people. Had the government named a fulltime MD for the TSRTC, we would not have seen this day and such a situation.
Present MD Sunil Sharma has no awareness or knowledge about RTC and is just playing according to the government’s wishes. If this government is pro-worker, it must come back and negotiate with us,” Ashwathama Reddy said.
Before Reddy’s arrest, leaders from several political parties met him at his residence and offered their solidarity while condemning the government’s harsh crackdown on the peaceful protest.
After his arrest, Ashwathama Reddy was taken to Osmania Hospital where he was administered IV fluids.
Ashwathama, however, stated he would continue his indefinite strike irrespective of being hospitalised. “The ‘Sadak Roko’ programme and every other strike event will go on as planned. Even if the government doesn’t want it, we will continue our struggle. I would continue my hunger strike from the hospital,” his said.
Post the arrests, the RTC staff and their supporters lamented the state of affairs.
“If those in the government in the bureaucracy have any humanity, they must think why these 50,000 odd people are protesting for 44 days. There must be some democracy in the State, but all seems to be lost,” said one supporter.