Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers’ Association has served a notice to the State government that close to 3.5 lakh employees of government and other public sector organisations will go on indefinite strike from midnight of August 12 against the decision of the Congress Working Committee to divide the State.
A delegation of APNGO’s Association led by its president P. Ashok Babu and general secretary N. Chandra Sekhar Reddy submitted the strike notice to the Chief Secretary P.K. Mohanty here on Tuesday. The employees in 13 districts and Hyderabad would participate in the strike as the division would go against the interests of the government, private employees and students, they said.
Later speaking to the media persons, Mr. Ashok Babu said that division of the State would first adversely impact lakhs of all sections of people and employees and hamper the economic development of the State. The decision to divide the State was only for political gains and people were unable to accept even the thought of bifurcation. They were hurt with arguments that Hyderabad no longer belonged to them.
Deploring the apathy and inefficiency of the MPs from Seemandhra that resulted in the present state of affairs, Mr. Ashok Babu said it was left for the employees, students and people’s organisations to lead the agitation against the unfair decision. “We are agitating for a social cause,” he added.
The APNGO’s leaders gave an ultimatum to the MPs to resign by August 12 to create a political crisis in the Parliament. “The Congress MPs should bring pressure on the UPA government and the CWC to keep the decision to divide the State in abeyance and make them listen to the concerns of the employees and people in both the regions, arrive at a consensus and take an appropriate decision,” they said.
The Association leaders, who already met the Chief Minister, PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana, TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu, would also go to New Delhi with their demand for united State.
