TRS Has Bought Employee Unions' Leaders: Uttam

TPCC head and MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy today appealed to the employees of Telangana to "revolt" against the leaders of the various employee unions in the state for "betraying" their cause.

Speaking at a series of meetings in Nalgonda and Hyderabad ahead of the upcoming MLC elections in the graduates' constituencies of Warangal-Nalgonda-Khammam and Hyderabad-Mahabubnagar-Rangareddy, the MP accused the union leaders of acting like "TRS agents" who had been "mortgaging the interests" of the employees for personal gains.

"Employee union leaders in Telangana have become agents of the TRS government. They treat the very people they are supposed to represent like slaves. Instead of pressuring the government to implement a new PRC and an enhanced fitment rate, the union leaders have only worked to secure sops for themselves in their discussions with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao," he said.

Objecting strongly to the "secret meetings" the union leaders had had with the CM at the Pragathi Bhavan, he said that the meetings could not be considered valid, and added, "KCR too has not been sincere in his efforts to work for the welfare of the employees of the state. He held meetings with employee associations' leaders not as the CM but as the TRS head. During his interactions, he sought only to secure their support for electoral purposes. This is not in proper form. The CM should have organised an on-camera meeting instead, and should have promised to provide 43% fitment to all employees in the state, in full public view. However, he has used union leaders as his tools to betray the employees and secure electoral gains. In fact, he even offered an MLC seat to one of the union leaders in exchange for the employees' support in the upcoming elections."

He then appealed to the employees not to trust the union leaders who had allegedly been bought by the ruling party, and advised them to hold re-elections to pick leaders committed to fighting for employee rights and welfare.

Turning to the teachers of the six districts awaiting elections, the TPCC head then urged them to reject the TRS for "deserting" them as well, and said, "IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao has done nothing but harass the managements of private educational institutions in the state. He has shamelessly admitted that the TRS regime did not take any steps to help the thousands of private teachers left devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead of offering compensation or help, KTR met the teachers just to beg them to support the TRS candidates in the MLC elections. The private teachers should not trust the ruling party any longer. They have the chance to punish the party for its unjust ways in the elections. I urge them to make use of the opportunity."

"That is not all - TRS supremo and CM KCR has cheated every section of society, including the students, the employees, the unemployed youth, the teachers, the lawyers and even the disadvantaged and marginalised communities in Telangana. The CM has become so arrogant that instead of being apologetic for his mistakes, he is trying to coerce the people of our state into supporting him and his party. He must be stopped. A Congress victory is sure to be the most potent remedy for all this. It is in fact essential for the restoration of democracy. Otherwise, Telangana will continue to witness the dictatorial rule of the TRS and its leaders. We must work unitedly to defeat the TRS and its ally, the BJP, in the MLC elections," he added.

Further, Reddy lashed out at the BJP as well as the TRS for "neglecting" the development of the state, and alleged, "The BJP-led Centre has not done anything for Telangana. It has never intervened in the state's affairs even though it has been witnessing the cruelty of the KCR regime. Like the TRS, the BJP too does not seem to care for the people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not felt the need to fulfil his promise of providing two crore jobs to the Indian youth annually. The saffron party's leaders in the state have been invested in riling up communal tensions to gain strength. Worst of all, the party's rivalry with the TRS is totally make-belief, and the leaders of both parties constantly make hollow allegations against each other to fool the people. If the BJP truly believes that KCR has indulged in corruption, then its government at the Centre should initiate CBI and ED enquiries into the same."

Reiterating his appeal for support, the MP urged the voters to vote for the Congress candidates contesting for the two MLC seats, S Ramulu Naik and G Chinna Reddy, in the upcoming MLC elections.

Earlier in the day, he, along with MP Venkat Reddy, MLC candidate Ramulu Naik, ex-MP V Hanumantha Rao and other party leaders, had visited the Nalgonda District Court and had appealed to the advocates there to vote for Ramulu Naik, reminding them of the barbaric double-murder of two advocates in Peddapalli and the "deafening silence" of the CM on the issue.

To woo the lawyers, the MP assured them that the Congress would implement an Advocates Protection Act if it came to power.