Seemandhra staff reject Chief Secretary’s appeal to call off strike

Decide to intensify the agitation

The Secretariat Seemandhra Employees’ Forum on Thursday decided to intensify agitation against the move to bifurcate the State, even as they rejected Chief Secretary P.K. Mohanty’s appeal to call off their 17-day indefinite strike.

On September 25, the employees would take out a candle rally from AP Bhavan at Delhi. On September 27, about 300 employees would participate in a day-long dharna at Jantar Mantar protesting the Congress Working Committee’s “unilateral decision”, said the Forum leaders.

Forum chairman U. Muralikrishna and secretary K.V. Krishnaiah told the media persons that they would meet the leaders of Opposition parties and also of Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress and DMK who were opposed to bifurcation and invite them for the dharna.

They would also seek the support of all the Seemandhra Ministers, MPs and Union Ministers for the dharna.

They said that appointments were being sought to meet the President and the Prime Minister on September 28 and explain the concerns of employees with regard to employment, financial security, service conditions, educational and employment opportunities for students, among others, if Seemandhra people were deprived of Hyderabad as their capital.

CS calls employees for talks

Chief Secretary P.K. Mohanty later in the day held a meeting with the Seemandhra employees at his chambers and asked them to call off their strike as it was affecting the administration. Pointing out that the agitation for the last 52 days was affecting people and public services, he said the Cabinet sub-committee would meet on Friday to take stock of the situation and employees’ concerns, he said.

However, the Forum leaders said even after all these days, neither there was positive development nor concrete assurances from the Centre to address people and employees’ concerns in Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema.