HYDERABAD: Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS), affiliated to the BRS, will contest in the forthcoming Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) trade union elections contrary to reports that the union decided to stay away from the election.
BRS MLC and TBGKS honorary president K Kavitha on Friday called upon the SCCL employees to remember the welfare schemes implemented by the BRS government for the employees and support the union in the polls.
In the wake of reports that TBGKS would not contest in the elections, Kavitha issued a statement that the BRS government was responsible for SCCL earning profits and giving huge share of profits to employees. Former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao protected Singareni, she said and added that the BRS government provided 20,000 dependent jobs in the SCCL.
Kavitha recalled that several revolutionary decisions, including SCCL paying interest on home loans up to Rs 10 lakh to employees, were taken by the BRS government. She said that TBGKS is the only union, which supports the employees. She said that youth would be given priority in TBGKS leadership.
Earlier in the day, TBGKS president I Venkat Rao and other leaders resigned following the union’s decision to stay away from the election scheduled to be held on December 27. However, two general secretaries of the union reportedly withdrew their resignation after BRS MLC Kavitha’s decision to contest the election.
The BRS lost Assembly seats falling within the Singerani belt, especially in erstwhile Adilabad district.
In the 2017 Singerani trade union elections, former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao himself took part in the campaign, leading to the TBGKS’ victory in most of the divisions. However, the four-year timeline lapsed, and the previous BRS government postponed the elections, fearing negative outcomes in the Assembly elections. Following the Telangana High Court’s order, the trade union elections are now set for December 27.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) — affiliated union of the Congress, and All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) — affiliated to the communist party, have an advantage as the parties formed an alliance in the recent Assembly elections.
The BRS is said to be concerned as SCCL encompasses three parliamentary elections in the wake of its defeat in the Assembly elections.And if TBGKS loses in the union elections, it could impact the parliamentary elections, hence they had decided to not participate in the union elections before changing the plan.