Hyderabad, Oct 22 (PTI) With hardly a week to go for the State High Court's deadline on ending the stir, the Telangana government on Tuesday said it has decided to examine other demands of the striking employees of the state Road Transport Corporation as employees unions themselves have given up their demand for merger of the Corporation with the government."

The Regional Transport Corporation (RTC) Managing Director has appointed a committee comprising Executive Directors (EDs) of the Corporation to examine the demands, a release from the chief minister's office said on Tuesday night.

The government has decided to submit a report to the state high court as per the report of the committee, it said.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao held a meeting with transport minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar and senior officials following the high courts directive to the RTC and employees to sit across the negotiating table and settle their disputes before October 28.

The leaders of employees unions had initially announced that they would hold talks only if an announcement over merger of RTC with the government is made but the unions said, during hearing in the high court, that they would not insist on the merger. This amounted to the employees giving up the demand for merger, the release quoted Rao as having said.

"Court urged that 21 issues among the demands raised by the employees be considered.Those demands have to be considered as per the orders of the court. Study that," Rao said.

The committee of EDs would submit its report to the RTC in one or two days, the release said.

Rao, who enquired about the alternative arrangements to avoid inconvenience to the people in view of the RTC employees strike, asked the officials to issue a notification to take 1,000 buses on hire immediately, it said.

Rao said it was unethical for the Congress and BJP to support the illegal strike being carried out at the behest of employees unions.

He asked whether the demands being made by the employees were implemented in states ruled by the Congress and BJP.

The BJP-led government at the Centre enacted legislation giving full powers to the states to privatize RTC and the routes (transport services) "but local BJP leaders are speaking against it," Rao said.

The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh shut down RTC in Madhya Pradesh when Digvijay Singh was Chief Minister, Rao alleged.

As per the Motor Vehicles Act amended and enacted by the BJP-led government, it was said that the state governments should take steps to promote healthy competition by allowing private sector in RTC, he claimed.

The Centre had announced that prices came down in mobile (phones) sector and civil aviation when private sector was allowed but "BJP leaders are making strange allegations in the matter of RTC in Telangana," he said.

As the stir entered the 18th day on Tuesday, employees of TSRTC on Tuesday resorted to 'Gandhigiri' and other forms of protests as part of their indefinite strike.

The agitating employees of Telangana State Regional Transport Corporation presented flowers to temporary drivers and conductors engaged by the corporation, requesting them to abstain from work as it would dilute their stir.PTI

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