RTC merger: Heated debate in Telangana Assembly

Hyderabad: The state assembly on Wednesday witnessed a heated exchange between the ruling party and the main opposition BRS over the issue of recognising the employees of the State Road Transport Corporation as government employees. The problem started during the Question Hour when senior BRS MLA T Harish Rao asked the government to declare the date for recognising the RTC employees as government employees. Criticising the government for delaying the process of absorbing the RTC employees into the government and recognising them as government employees, he said the BRS government had started the process but even after seven months, the Congress government was not taking steps to merge the RTC with the government.

“The Congress had made tall promises regarding the welfare of the RTC employees during the elections and also promised to give them two PRCs. But no steps have been taken in this direction so far,” he said. Not satisfied with the reply of Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, he asked the minister to declare the date for recognising the RTC employees as government employees. An angry Transport Minister, instead of giving a date, accused the previous BRS government of ruining the RTC. Intervening in the discussion, Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu said that since the Transport Minister has answered all the questions, the BRS members can raise the issue in some other way and let the House function.

Unsatisfied with the minister’s clarification, the BRS members rushed to the Speaker’s podium and demanded that Harish Rao be allowed to speak on the issue. However, Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar told the members that discussion cannot be allowed during Question Hour. Meanwhile, the Speaker allowed CPI member Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao to speak on the issue, to which the BRS MLAs objected. He said that since the CPI member was not in the list of members who had raised this particular question, he cannot be allowed to speak. Intervening in the discussion, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said that once a question is tabled, it becomes the property of the House and any member can speak on the issue with the permission of the Speaker. He said the CPI member was allowed to speak on the issue as his party had played a key role in the 50-day strike of RTC employees during the previous government. When the uproar continued, the Speaker suspended the Question Hour and initiated a condolence motion.