Congress leaders condemn KCR's dictatorial style

Nampally: The police took into custody Congress leaders who tried to take out a protest rally to Pragathi Bhavan demanding resolution of problems being faced by RTC employees. They were taken to Begumpet Police Station.

The Congress leaders including Hyderabad City Congress Minorities Department chairman Sameer Waliullah, TPCC spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin, TPCC secretary Sajid Shareef, C Santosh and others, who were on constant watch by police since last night, somehow managed to reach the party headquarters Gandhi Bhavan on Monday afternoon.

As soon as they came to march towards Pragathi Bhavan, they were stopped by the police personnel. The Congress activists burnt the effigy of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao outside Gandhi Bhavan and raised slogans against his dictatorial behaviour towards RTC employees.

Speaking to media persons, Sameer Waliullah strongly condemned the attitude of KCR towards RTC employees and described it as inhuman and insensitive. He alleged that the Chief Minister was dragging the issue to escalate the sufferings of RTC workers.

"All RTC workers are salaried class and one can imagine their situation when their salaries are delayed by more than 20 days. Just to prove his authority, the Chief Minister has ruined their financial condition and he is still not willing to pay salary dues and initiate talks to find a solution," he said.

He said delay in payment of September salaries led to non-clearance of EMIs and other financial commitments. He said, so far nine employees died of heart attack while two others committed suicide. With no clarity on when the crisis would be resolved, he feared that the situation might turn from bad to worse.

Sameer alleged that the TRS Government was creating a humanitarian crisis out of RTC strike. "More than 48,000 employees have been illegally declared 'self-dismissed'. The government is not willing to listen to the Governor, High Court, opposition parties, unions or civil society.

This might be the first time in history that the future of thousands of employees and a huge corporation depends on the mood of an individual, who happens to be an elected Chief Minister.

It is highly unfortunate that the Telangana has turned into a dictatorship with no one having freedom to express their views," he said, while announcing that the Congress party would continue its fight for justice for RTC employees. He said that the battle against KCR's dictatorial regime has now begun.