TSRTC union leader booked as strike enters 21st day

Hyderabad:  In a new twist to the ongoing strike by employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), police in Hyderabad on Friday booked their leader on a complaint by a driver.
Joint Action Committee (JAC) convenor Ashwathama Reddy was booked on charges of wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation.
The case was registered at Kukatpally police station on a complaint by driver K. Raju, who alleged that Reddy was instigating employees and was responsible for deaths of few employees. The complainant said that the demand to merge the TSRTC with the government was Reddy’s own demand and not that of employees.
The development came on 21st day of the strike by more than 48,000 employees of the state-owned transport utility over various demands including the merger of the TSRTC with the government so that they are treated at par with the government employees.
The case was booked hours after Ashwathama Reddy alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao was trying to divide the striking employees to foil their protest.
The Chief Minister had said on Thursday that the TSRTC is on the verge of closure due to the strike and blamed its union leaders for this situation. He alleged that the union leaders were playing with the lives of the workers.