“Ashwathama Reddy has planted the idea of merger in the minds of the employees which has resulted in 21 days of strike, and a few died by suicide,” Raju said in his complaint.
File photo/Ashwathama Reddy/V6
A day after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao invoked fear that the shutting down of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation is inevitable, and that itself will end the ongoing strike, two employees reported to duty on Friday. Among the two, one of them – K Raju working in Kukatpally depot – filed a complaint against TSRTC Joint Action Committee convenor Ashwathama Reddy, holding him responsible for the suicides of two employees during the strikes.
In his complaint, he wrote, “Ashwathama Reddy has planted the idea of merger in the minds of the employees which has resulted in 21 days of strike, and a few died by suicide. Ashwathama Reddy is responsible for these suicides and any suicide which will happen in the future.”
He added, “The CM has said that he would run the TSRTC into profits. Yet he (Ashwathama) is saying that he would continue with the protest and slitting the throats of innocent employees.”
Speaking to media, Raju said, “Let's use the opportunity given by the Chief Minister. This strike is not right. A strike should last for one or two days. If you (Ashwathama Reddy) want to continue the strike for months, it would be a repeat of Potti Sreeramulu...(Potti Sreeramulu died in a protest after he went on a hunger strike for 58 days demanding statehood for Andhra Pradesh).”
Based on his complaint, the Kukatpally police have registered a case under 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation). Along with Raju, another employee Usha Babu, a mechanical supervisor working at BHEL, also reported to duty.
However, the TSRTC unions say that the employees are still united, and the Chief Minister’s ‘tactics’ to split them won’t work. Kukatpally depot supervisor Ashok said, “We are together in the strike. One or two people might resume the duties, but the large majority is with us.”
Meanwhile, the TSRTC JAC and the TSRTC management will have a meeting on Saturday to resolve the crisis.
The TSRTC employees are on strike since October 5, demanding the merger of TSRTC with the government. Two employees, Srinivas Reddy and Surender Goud, died by suicide after 48,000-odd employees were dismissed by the Telangana government for not reporting to duty.
The main demand of the JAC is to merge the Road Transport Corporation, which is running into losses, with the state government. The JAC also has a list of 25 other demands.
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