HYDERABAD: Even as the RTC employees are firm on their decision to continue their strike in favour of their demand, opposition parties have put their weight behind the striking employees and assured all possible support to them.
They took strong exception to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for threatening RTC workers of terminating their services and warned that if the government do not withdraw the threat, it has to face serious consequences.
The opposition had asked the government to immediately resume dialogues with the RTC unions and accept their genuine demands.
The CPI, which announced its support to the TRS in the Huzurnagar bypoll, too wanted the government to resume talks and accept their genuine demands.
“We want the government to resolve the issue of RTC employees at the earliest so that people do not suffer,” CPI state secretary Chada Venkat Reddy said. He advised the Chief Minister to intervene and resolve the issue at the earliest.
Finding fault with Chief Minister’s statement that his government would neither allow the strike nor negotiate with the RTC unions, CPM State secretary Thammineni Veerabhadram stated that the employees were forced to go on strike as the government did not solve their problems and moreover threatened them.
Senior Congress leader and former minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir said: “KCR is behaving like a ‘police boss’ and threatening RTC employees. If you remove them, people of Telangana will remove you from CM’s post,” he warned. Shabbir stated that though the RTC unions served strike notice two months ago, the government did not take any steps to look into their demands and now when they went on strike, it is threatening them.
Former PCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah accused the Chief Minister of behaving irresponsibly and putting both RTC staff and people to hardship. “KCR instead of fulfilling poll promises is targeting RTC employees,” he alleged.
BJP national executive member N Indrasena Reddy too criticised the State government for threatening to invoke Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) if they did not join duties by Saturday evening.
“In a democracy everyone has a right to go on strike. You cannot threaten employees. Employees have gone on strike due to government’s failure. We will not keep quite if the employees are terminated,” he remarked.