Telangana employees' fight over redundant' Andhra Pradesh native staff

Hyderabad: The AP government’s decision to send back 24 AP-native section officers to Telangana has led to a tussle between Telangana employees.

The Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers’ Association held a meeting at D-Block in the TS Secretariat on Wednesday and demanded that the state government do not give postings to AP-native staff in the TS Secretariat.

However, the Telangana Secretariat Employees’ Association obstructed the meeting, saying that TNGOs had no right to hold meetings in the Secretariat.

This led to a confrontation between the two unions.

TS Secretariat employees argued that only their association will deal with issues pertaining to the Secretariat and no outsiders would be allowed to hold protests here.

Tension prevailed as employees of both unions almost came to blows. Security forces were called in and they dispersed the agitating employees. 

There were heated arguments between the employees of the two unions as each accused the other of colluding with the AP government to benefit AP native staff.

They levelled serious allegations against each other of collecting lakhs from AP native staff to rake up unnecessary controversy and ensure posting for them in Hyderabad.

TNGOs president Karem Ravinder Reddy said, “Our meeting was aimed to build up support for not giving postings to 24 AP native staff in TS. But TS Secretariat Employees’ Association obstructed our meeting which proves who is working for the cause of whom.”

Refuting this allegation, P. Narender, TS Secretariat Association president, said, “When we have a separate Secretariat Employees’ Association to deal with these issues, where is the need for TNGOs to meddle with Secretariat issues? Let them take up programmes outside. We have no objection. We will not allow outsiders to interfere in Secretariat issues.”

It all started with the AP government relieving 24 AP-native staff from their duties in Amaravati in June. They had been shifted there from the TS Secretariat.?

The Kamalnathan Committee had allotted them to AP based on their nativity, and the TS government had duly relieved them of their duties on January 30 this year.

The AP government is now refusing to give them postings and has asked the TS government to take these employees back. It also wants the TS government to pay them salaries for the four-month waiting period, from January 30.

The TS government objected. 

It has already promoted assistant section officers of TS origin and filled the 24 vacancies.

Besides, the TS government has also given postings to 42 section officers and 16 assistant section officers relieved by the AP government nine months ago. There was a delay of four months before they got their postings and the government paid them the salary arrears after they joined duty.

The latest decision of the AP government to not give postings to 24 employees relieved by the TS government has triggered sharp protests from TS employees’ associations.