STATE TEACHERS’ UNIONS TO SUPPORT STRIKE
Laxman blames TRS govt’s attitude for driver’s suicide
TSRTC bus driver Srinivas Reddy, one among the 48,000 corporation employees sacked by the state government who set himself ablaze on Saturday, died on Sunday while undergoing treatment at the DRDO Apollo Hospital.
BJP state president K. Laxman said, “The state government’s attitude towards TSRTC employees is atrocious. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is directly responsible for the death of Srinivas Reddy.” He urged RTC employees not to take any extreme step as the BJP would remain with them till their legitimate demands are accepted and employees sacked en masse taken back on duty.
Laxman announced that the BJP will fully support the call of TSRTC JAC for statewide Bandh on October 19. The state BJP president and senior party leaders also visited the DRDO Apollo Hospital following the RTC driver’s demise.
Senior BJP leader N. V. Subhash warned the Chief Minister that he will have to face the heat in coming days if he continues to ignore RTC employees and does not accept their demands. Party leader T. R. Sriniwas said it is high time Chandrasekhar Rao gave up his ego and resolved the strike going on since past nine days. CPI(M) leader Tammineni Veerabhadram said the state has to take responsibility for Reddy’s death. He condemned the CM’s comments on employees.
“Had if the CM responded positively on the issue of RTC employees, Srinivas Reddy’s life would have not been lost,” said CPI leader K. Narayana. “It was government provocation that led to his extreme step.”
Jana Sena president K. Pawan Kalyan said the intervention of Telangana’s political leaders would have saved Reddy’s life. “Can we give him back to his family? It is disturbing that even after Telangana became a separate state, incidents like this are happening,” he said.
Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao told the media that the CM was striving to develop the RTC’s condition. He accused political parties of misleading RTC employees by saying that the CM would privatise the corporation.
The PRTU and 22 other teachers’ unions said they would support the strike, and that they wanted to join the protest after Dasara holidays. The PRTU said that the extension of holidays at educational institutions by the government was meant to dilute the RTC issue.