BJP Launches Fast Over Teachers' Arrear Pensions
N. Ramchander Rao slams A. Revanth Reddy government over pending dues, alleges financial mismanagement and broken poll promises.
Hyderabad: BJP state president N. Ramchander Rao has demanded that the Congress government immediately release pending arrears of government employees and pensioners, including teachers. Rao accused the Revanth Reddy-led administration of mismanaging state resources and said many retired employees, under severe financial stress over the past two years, had lost their lives.
Speaking at a hunger strike protest organised by the party at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park, Rao said Rahul Gandhi had lost the moral right to visit Telangana, alleging that the Congress had failed to fulfil promises made to farmers, youth, women, and marginalised communities including BC, SC and ST members during the Assembly elections. He charged the government with following a “bulldozer policy” by demolishing houses of the poor under the guise of HYDRAA and Musi river beautification.
Rao further alleged that the health and education systems were in disarray, pointing out that arrears under the Aarogyasri scheme owed to private and corporate hospitals had reached thousands of crores, forcing hospitals to deny treatment to the poor. He added that fee reimbursement dues of over ₹8,000 crore were pending, jeopardising the future of lakhs of SC, ST and BC students. Universities, he said, were in a dismal state with no new professor recruitments, while government hostels were plagued by food poisoning incidents. Describing the Revanth Reddy government as a “40 per cent commission government,” he accused it of illegal collections, land grabbing and selling government lands.
BJP vice-president D.K. Aruna also criticised the Congress, saying it had misled different sections of society with tall promises. Even after two years in power, she said, the government had not released a single Dearness Allowance or announced a Pay Revision Commission for employees. She claimed that 70 retired employees had died without receiving their retirement benefits, and accused the ruling party of muzzling BJP MLAs and MLCs in the Assembly when they attempted to raise employees' issues.
BJP floor leader A. Maheshwar Reddy said the government had been harassing 3.6 lakh working and 2.8 lakh retired employees by keeping arrears pending for over two years. He alleged that the non-payment of gratuity, commutation, provident fund and six dearness allowances reflected the bankruptcy of the state economy.
BJP MP Etala Rajender, along with MLAs Rakesh Reddy, K. Venkatramana Reddy and others, also addressed the dharna and expressed solidarity with retired employees.