RTC JAC Hints At Calling Off Strike

Reacting to the High Court's offer of forming a committee of retired judges of the Supreme Court to find a solution to the TSRTC strike, the TSRTC employees unions' JAC Convener E Ashwatthama Reddy today hinted at calling off the strike.

"We are ready to heed the Court's directive," he said, perhaps sensing a face-saving exit given the absolute adamance by the KCR government to acquiesce to any of the demands of the JAC.

Earlier in the day, the court had said that it could not term the RTC strike as illegal as sought by the State government, but said that it (the court) could set up a committee of retired judges of the Supreme Court to take a call on the issues involved in the RTC strike after talking to all of the JAC, the TSRTC management and the State government, and asked the counsel for the government to reply by Wednesday afternoon on whether the government would like such a committee.

The High Court declined to impose ESMA on the RTC stir as was done in 1998 and 2015, and asked the petitioners seeking that to move the consumer forum on the alleged hefty collection of charges in the buses that they cited as the reason for their petition. It also said that the stay on the privatization of 5,100 bus routes would continue.

The RTC strike reached its 39th day today.