"Two and a half years, still no justice": K Kavitha slams Telangana govt over RTC merger delay

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], April 24 : Telangana Jagruthi President K. Kavitha launched a sharp attack on the Congress-led Telangana government over its failure to fulfil its promise of merging the Road Transport Corporation (RTC) with the state government, alleging continued distress among employees and warning of an impending strike.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Kavitha said the government had assured RTC employees of a complete merger and restoration of unions before coming to power, but has failed to implement the commitment even after two and a half years in office.

"In Telangana, the Congress government had promised to merge the RTC with the government and ensure justice for Road Transport Corporation (RTC) employees, but it has now failed to deliver on those commitments. It has been two and a half years since the government came to power, and RTC employees continue to face severe hardships. In protest, RTC employees have announced a strike tomorrow," She added.

Kavitha further added, "We urge the government to take an immediate decision in favour of the employees by fulfilling its promise of a complete merger of RTC with the government and restoring the unions. Otherwise, employees across the state are becoming increasingly distressed. Today, we also heard that employees at four different locations have attempted suicide. We demand the government fulfill their demands immediately."

The remarks come amid an ongoing RTC employees' strike in Telangana, which has raised 32 demands. Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the government is ready to accept 29 of the 32 demands.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the state cabinet has appealed to RTC employees to withdraw their strike and invited union representatives for talks.

The State cabinet held extensive discussions on the issue and expressed willingness to resolve the employees' concerns through dialogue.

"The State Cabinet has appealed to RTC employees to call off their strike. It has been conveyed that the government is committed with a clear intent to resolving the employees' issues through discussions. It has invited the unions to come for talks. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has directed the team of ministers, led by Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Mallu, to hold discussions tomorrow (Friday) with representatives of the unions," the CMO statement said.

"In the Cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister at Dr BR Ambedkar State Secretariat, there was an extensive discussion on the RTC employees' strike. The Chief Minister suggested in the meeting that the government is positively inclined toward the employees' issues and that discussions should be held with the unions," the statement further added.

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