RTC JAC reiterates that the strike will continue

Despite the deadline set by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao ending on Tuesday, the RTC employee unions’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) remained adamant and reiterated that the strike would continue.

The RTC JAC on Tuesday morning held a closed door meeting with representatives of the Political JAC at Maqdoom Bhavan which lasted for more than two hours.

Among others, M. Kodandaram of Telangana Jana Samithi, Congress leader V. Hanumantha Rao, MRPS leader Manda Krishna Madiga and CPI (M) leader Julakanti Ranga Reddy, participated in the interaction with the RTC JAC leaders.

Emering from the meeting, RTC JAC convener Ashwathama Reddy decried the Government move to hand over routes of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation to private players and alleged that the State



government had no right to make changes in the corporation.

Arguing that the privatisation of the corporation was not in the purview of the State government and that it would have to take approval from the Centre for such reforms, Reddy said the Centre has a 31 per cent stake in the RTC while the State had 69 per cent as per the Road Transport Act, 1950. The Act stipulated that the Centre and State would have to take a joint decision for any changes in its existence, he said.

Repeatedly saying that there was no question of the strike being called off, the JAC leaders said RTC employees, trade unions and other civil groups would organise a road blockade on Wednesday, followed by agitations on Thursday and a ‘Chalo Tank Bund’ programme on November 9.