Hyderabad: Telangana Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud on Sunday said the victory of M Raji Reddy of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) union elections reflected the growing support of workers and employees for the Congress. He also expressed confidence that the party would achieve similar success in the forthcoming Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections.Addressing a felicitation programme for Raji Reddy at Gandhi Bhavan, Mahesh Goud said, “We have hoisted the Congress flag (INTUC) in the Water Board, which was firmly under the influence of former minister T Harish Rao of the BRS. We will repeat this success in the upcoming GHMC elections.”The TPCC chief alleged that during the previous BRS govt’s tenure, organisations such as the Water Board and Singareni Collieries were kept under their political control, preventing workers and employees from freely expressing their concerns or criticising the govt.Referring to the RTC strike during the previous regime, Mahesh Goud said it continued for 54 days because the BRS govt failed to respond to the workers’ genuine demands. “Under the leadership of chief minister A Revanth Reddy, however, the RTC strike was resolved within three days after the govt held discussions with union leaders,” he said.“This is the difference between the previous BRS govt and the incumbent Congress govt. Workers are now free to exercise their voting rights and elect leaders of their choice,” he said, urging M Raji Reddy and his team to stand by the workers and address their issues within HMWSSB.The TPCC president also assured that he would personally bring worker-related concerns to the notice of the CM whenever intervention at the govt level was required. Earlier, Congress workers celebrated the victory by bursting firecrackers, while Raji Reddy arrived at Gandhi Bhavan in a rally accompanied by party cadres.
