Congress sets Oct 19 deadline for CM to resolve RTC issue

Hyderabad: The Congress party has set October 19 as the deadline for Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao to resolve the RTC strike issue. Else, the Congress leaders warned that they would lay siege to CM's official residence Pragathi Bhavan on October 21.

This was announced in a joint press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday by TPCC Working President & MP A. Revanth Reddy, Former minister and ex-Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir, ex-Deputy CM Damodar Rajanarasimha and other leaders.

Revanth Reddy alleged that the provocative statements of Chief Minister and his ministers drove many RTC employees to suicide and they failed to find a solution despite the strike entering 11th day on Tuesday. He said the Chief Minister was more sympathetic to the dog of Pragathi Bhavan than the common people. He said that a serious case that might result in five years imprisonment was booked against a veterinary doctor following the death of CM's dog. However, no action was taken when RTC employees committed suicide following ministers' provocative statements. He said Ministers Errabelli Dayakara Rao and Talasani Srinivas Yadav should be booked under Section 306. He described the suicide by RTC employees as institutional murders.

Former minister Shabbir Ali alleged that TRS leaders were giving contradictory and confusing statements on the RTC employees strike. He said that at one side Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has been insisting that more than 48,000 RTC employees were 'self-dismissed' and they were no more part of the corporation. On the other side, TRS ministers and TRS Secretary-General K. Keshava Rao are giving statements appealing RTC workers to call of the strike. "If the Chief Minister is correct and over 48,000 employees are 'self dismissed', then to whom ministers and TRS MP are appealing to call off the strike and talk with the government," he said.

Shabbir Ali urged CM KCR and other TRS leaders to stop giving contradictory statements to create confusion among people, especially the employees. Keshava Rao apparently offered to mediate the talks while the fact is he himself has no access to the Chief Minister and latter is not willing to talk with anyone on the issue, he said.

The Congress leader said that the TRS Government was not only playing with the lives of thousands of RTC employees but also with the lives of common people. Those not capable of riding a motor-cycle were being allowed to drive RTC buses. Consequently, there has been a rise in the number of bus accidents and more than 15 people got injured in different accidents so far. By deploying inexperienced drivers, CM KCR has turned all roads prone to accidents.

Shabbir Ali said that the Congress party has been supporting the RTC employees from day one onwards and the support would continue till their problems are resolved. He said although TPCC President Uttam Kumar Reddy was busy in the campaign for Huzurnagar bye-elections, other Congress leaders have been supporting the protest by RTC employees across the State. He appealed to the people to support the RTC JAC's Telangana Bandh on October 19.

Ex-Deputy CM Damodar Rajanarasimha alleged that Telangana was witnessing the worst aristocratic form of government in the country. He said that the Central Government should intervene into the matter and hoped that Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, who is presently on Delhi's tour, would enlighten the Centre on the issue.