Sentiment against KCR at an all time high

The 2011 “Sakala Janula Samme” that lasted for 42 days has altered the course of the Telangana agitation. The movement spearheaded by the Joint Action Committee has brought the transportation sector of the Telangana region to halt by roping in the employees of the state-run APSRTC. But the one-day-long strike by the TSRTC now owned by the newest state of India, has resulted in the “Self Dismissal “ of over 48000 employees in just one go.

“K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) was elected for only five years, we are TSRTC staff and we work till we retire. He has no right to dismiss us,” says a lady Conductor in a dharna near Nizamabad bus station on Thursday. The mood of the public carrier is of shock and disbelief. All the 50,000 employees and their families have not celebrated Dassera this year as they were not paid the September month as they were in strike. The people of the state also sympathize with the RTC employees as it is the only cheap mode of transportation for them.

“The government’s argument that all those who have not attended to duties on 6 October evening automatically gets sacked or “self dismissed” won’t stand High Court’s scrutiny,” N Ramachander Rao, a lawyer by profession and BJP MLC said. Four days ago a Lunch Motion petition was filed by one Surendra Singh a student of the Osmania University, against the government. The case is now posted for 15 October.

One more Sakala Janula Samme

The Joint Action Committee of the TSRTC unions who played an important role in the separate Telangana agitation has initiated talks with yet another strong union of the TNGO, the employees union of the government employees. The RTC unions are trying to rope in the government employees also into the proposed “Sakala Janula Samme”. “We are trying to save RTC from privatization”, Aswathama Reddy, the convener of the JAC said. All the political parties in the state have extended their support to the proposed agitation.

The Telangana Congress party treasurer Guduru Narayana Reddy alleged that KCR has set his eyes on Rs 65,000 crore worth assets of the RTC. “By privatizing the RTC, KCR’s family and his financial supporters would get benefited,” he said in a statement. He also demanded the state government to make the report of Sunil Sharma Committee public aimed at revival of the TSRTC.