TSRTC strike: 'Left-Right' in one frame in Hyderabad

Hyderabad witnessed an extremely rare sight on Saturday where CPI, a left-wing party was seen protesting with the BJP, a right-wing party against the ruling TRS government. Both the parties were supporting the state-wide bandh called by the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) and Joint Action Committee (JAC).

Hyderabad (Telangana): In a rare incident, Left-wing and Right-wing politicians were seen at the same place protesting against the state government at Hyderabad in Telangana on Saturday.

Right-wing party- BJP and Left-wing party- CPI are supporting the state-wide bandh called by the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) and Joint Action Committee (JAC) as part of the ongoing strike by the RTC employees which has been going on for the last 13 days.

Many leaders were reportedly injured during the protest here today. One CPI-ML leader got injured during the agitation. "I was participating in the protest to see that everything was closed as part of the statewide bandh called today. Police tried to arrest me and when I resisted, I injured my finger," CPI-ML leader Ranga Rao said.

He was later shifted to a hospital for immediate medical treatment. On the other hand, some people were seen thrashing a person for refusing to close his shop in Badangpet area.

The bandh call, though not successful, was held a day after the Telangana High Court asked both the TSRTC unions and the state government to hold talks. So far, no talks have been held.

Raji Reddy, president of the TSRTC Employees Union, which is part of the JAC formed, said that the city police had picked up various union leaders from their homes and taken them into custody (to pre-empt the bandh call). “They have still not called us for talks. I had not stayed at home on Friday night, and the police arrested union leaders from their homes early on Saturday morning itself," he added.

The Communist Party of India (CPI), which has a small vote bank in the assembly segment, had earlier decided to support the TRS but later withdrew it due to the ongoing issue with the TSRTC.

Among other demands, the TSRTC unions are asking for a salary hike for all employees and also a merger of the organization with the state government. Telangana chief minister and (TRS supremo) K. Chandrashekhar Rao has however not responded so far.