Differences have cropped up amongst Employees Association, who had indulged in a direct war with the Election Commission stating that they cannot support Panchayat election keeping their health concerns in mind. It seems that the employees have not yet come out of the shock with the comments of the Supreme Court.
In the JAC meeting, Bopparaju said that the behaviour of Venkatrami Reddy was not good. He also alleged that Reddy was interfering in unwanted issues. Responding to this Venkatrami Reddy said that he stopped the efforts to stick posters on Secretariat buildings. He found fault with Bopparaju criticizing him.
Reddy said that Bopparaju was making such comments because the Supreme Court made adverse comments. Had the comments been in favour, everyone would have taken the credit for it. Reacting to this, Bopparaju said that there was opposition for Reddy in his own association and suggested him to change his attitude. He is not listening even to Jagan. This issue is not a calendar, diary issue, said Bopparaju.
There were mixed reactions from the employee’s associations on elections but they were afraid to raise their voice. The associations which are against the SEC did not talk when the government wanted to hold elections during Covid time. The employees who work as per the government’s orders fell into self-defence after the ruling of the Supreme Court. At the same time, the comments of some leaders landed the government into an embarrassing situation.
Earlier, in 2019 stating that the government was delaying the pay revision, three instalments of DA arrears, cancellation of CPS, etc, the NGO-led JAC called for a protest. The committee was headed by Chandrasekhar Reddy.
However, AP JAC Amaravati President Bopparaju Venkateswarlu said they were not participating in the agitation. He also criticized the NGOs for taking up a protest at a time when the government gave 27 percent IR and already increased salaries. However, AP NGO Association General Secretary Bandi Srinivasa Rao countered Bopparaju remarks at the time. He alleged that Bopparaju was acting as a government puppet. Disagreements have also arisen in the past over the shifting of employees to Amaravati and the fight over the difficulties faced by some employees due to flaws in the distribution system of employees between AP and Telangana. Recently, there were differences between Venkatrami Reddy, the president of the Secretariat Employees’ Union, and Bopparaju, the president of AP JAC Amaravati.
It is said that the employees who are indulging in controversies are led by those who opposed the Chandrababu government in the past. There is a debate going on that these leaders wanted the YSRCP government to come, and that such conflicts between them were not new. Doubts have been expressed that the controversy over the Panchayat elections has increased public sentiment against the government and the unions hence they were creating controversy and sidelining the issue. Overall, these controversies have raised doubts among employees about how they would fight for employee rights.
