Strike will continue, APNGOs tell HC

COURT REFUSES TO GRANT ANY RELIEF WHEN STRIKE IS ON

Hyderabad: The APNGOs agitation for a united state will continue. This was informed to the division bench hearing the PIL against the ongoing agitation. The bench of Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice K C Bhanu recorded the statement and proceeded to hear the matter further on Saturday. The bench is hearing the writ pleas filed by V Ravi Kumar, an advocate, and T Danaiah, president of the All India BC, OBC Party, seeking declaration of the ongoing strike by the APNGOs and Seemandhra Secretariat Forum as illegal.

Appearing for the Seemandhra Secretariat Forum, senior counsel A Satya Prasad, informed the court that his clients were not going to withdraw the strike as the Central government had failed to invite the agitating employees' association for negotiations to clear the latter's apprehensions on the contentious issue. The Chief Justice observed that if the employees had withdrawn the strike the court would have issued appropriate orders to protect their interests as was done in the case of doctors' strike.

The senior counsel then said that the court could not link up the present issue with that of doctors' strike as the ongoing strike was linked up with the entire population of Seemandhra region. The strike could not be withdrawn without negotiation, a process that was not initiated by the Centre. Senior counsel CV Mohan Reddy, who was arguing for the APNGOs, also informed the court that the decision of his client too was the same. In his arguments Senior Counsel, Satya Prasad pointed out that neither the state government nor the Centre had taken any positive steps to solve the impasse in the last 45 days.

He went a step further and pleaded that the court exercise its discretionary powers by directing the Centre to commence the negotiation process in the larger interest of the people and put an end to the stalemate. People's aspirations were more important than looking at the strike as an issue, he added. C Ramachandra Raju, arguing for AP Revenue Services Employees' Association, said that the action of the political executive had resulted in public unrest in the state. People were exercising their sovereign power to protest against the decision to bifurcate the state. A massive public agitation was going on and the employees had joined the movement. “Strike is not a matter of right, but it is more than that,” he added.