Telangana Congress MPs Meet Gadkari Over RTC Issue

·Uttam condemns KCR for inhuman, cruel and vindictive approach towards RTC workers

·Telangana Congress MPs seek appointment with PM Modi on RTC issue

·Privatisation will increase cost of public transport and finish RTC: TPCC Chief

New Delhi, November 26(Maxim News): Telangana Congress MPs – TPCC President N. Uttam Kumar Reddy (Nalgonda), Komatireddy Venkatreddy (Bhongir) and A. Revanth Reddy (Malkajgiri) on Tuesday expressed deep anguish and agony at the inhuman manner in which RTC employees are being treated by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and his cohorts like RTC MD Sunil Sharma.

The Congress MPs first sought the appointment with Prime Minister Narender Modi to discuss the RTC issue. The PMO said that the appointment might be arranged on Wednesday.

Later, they met Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari at his office and urged that the Central Government immediately intervene into the RTC issue. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Central Government holds 33% share in the RTC and therefore, it was its duty to protect the institution and employees. He said nearly 50,000 employees have rendered services for several decades and the RTC buses operate services in all rural and remote areas. Therefore, he said that the Central Government could not abandon the institution. He urged Nitin Gadkari to play pro-active role in resolving the issue.

Responding to the request made by Congress MPs, the Union Minister assured that he could convene a meeting on Thursday.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Chief Minister was neither resolving the demands raised by RTC employees nor allowing the workers to re-join duties unconditionally. “The Chief Minister’s directions to the RTC management not to take back the employees only shows his cruelty, inhuman attitude and vindictiveness which is rarely seen in public life in India. What the Chief Minister is trying to do? Is he trying to drive nearly 50,000 families to suicide?” he asked.

The Congress MP said KCR came to power on the promise of providing a job to every household. “KCR not only failed to fulfil this promise, but now he is to remove existing jobs of RTC employees,” he said.

Strongly opposing privatisation of RTC, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the privatisation of RTC would increase the cost of travel for general public and permanent closure of RTC. He said that the RTC, under previous Congress regimes, was a world class institution and had even entered Guinness Book of World Records for being world’s largest and best public transport organisation. He said all past governments treated public transport as a welfare measure and not as profit and loss mechanism.

Uttam Kumar Reddy strongly condemned KCR for denying employment to RTC employees and the way he has been trying to oust them from their jobs. He assured that whenever Congress party comes to power at the State or Centre, it would cancel the privatisation and restore the jobs of RTC workers. (Maxim News)