The indefinite strike by the Government employees in Seema-Andhra regions against the proposed bifurcation of the State, which has completed 40 days, has further deepened the divide in the State Cabinet even as the Andhra Pradesh High Court continued its hearing on the issue for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday.
Badly divided along the regional lines, State Cabinet met after a long gap of nearly two months to witness a tussle between Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and senior Telangana Minister K Jana Reddy as latter alleged that the Chief Minister was backing the strike to scuttle Telangana State.
Jana Reddy wanted to know why the CM was not taking initiative to end the strike as he had done in case of the indefinite strike by Telangana employees last year. “There are apprehensions among the people that the State Government and the Chief Minister is backing this strike,” he said, demanding that the Government come out clean on the issue.
Denying the allegations the Chief Minister said that he had already set up a Cabinet subcommittee to talk to the striking employees. Senior Minister from Andhra Shailajanath, who was also opposed to bifurcation, said that there was no set of rules to handle the agitation.
Jana Reddy drew the attention of the Cabinet that all the Government developmental and welfare programmes had stopped and the administration was at a standstill due to the strike.
The indefinite strike, called by AP Non Gazetted officers Association has been joined by many other sections of the Government employees.
As many as nine Ministers from both the regions stayed away from the meeting. Major Industries Minister J Geeta Reddy, who was charge-sheeted by the CBI in Jaganmohan Reddy’s case, was also conspicuous by her absence.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh High Court adjourned the hearing of two public interest litigations against the employees strike to Monday after hearing the arguments on behalf of the counsel for the APNGOs. In response to the High Court query that how long the employees intend to carry on their strike, the APNGOs’ counsel submitted to the court that strike will continue till the Government gives a clarity on the problems raised by them.
The two PIls were filed by an advocate V Ravi Kumar and T Damanaiah, a political activist demanding that the court should declare the stir illegal.
APNGO president Ashok Babu, talking to the media outside the High Court said that the statement of their counsel regarding the continuation of the strike was recorded by Chief Justice Kalyan Jyothi Sengupta. “Our strike is part of the struggle by the masses against the bifurcation of the State and we will continue our struggle till the Government gives a clear assurance,” he said.
High Court was likely to pass its orders on Monday or Tuesday. APNGOs leaders said that if the High Court passes orders against the strike they will appeal in the Supreme Court.