Harish Rao, Sridhar Babu trade charges over employee welfare in Assembly zero hour

Hyderabad: Employee welfare issues triggered sharp exchanges between BRS leader T. Harish Rao and IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu during zero hour in the Telangana Assembly on Monday.

Harish Rao accused the Congress government of neglecting government employees and pensioners. He alleged that the government failed to deliver financial benefits to retired employees and ignored long-pending service-related demands.

He said government employees remained under severe mental stress and argued that welfare and development programmes could succeed only when employees felt secure. Harish Rao claimed Telangana had five pending dearness allowance instalments, which he described as unprecedented.

The BRS leader said the government had not implemented a new Pay Revision Commission even after two years in office. He accused the Congress of betraying employees by failing to fulfil election promises. Harish Rao recalled that the previous government had implemented PRCs at 43% and 39%.

He further alleged that the Congress promised to continue the employee health scheme but failed to implement it after coming to power. He claimed 39 retired employees had died due to distress caused by delayed retirement benefits.

Minister counters charges, cites salary reforms

Responding sharply, Minister Sridhar Babu dismissed the allegations and accused the BRS of ignoring employee welfare during its ten-year rule. He said the opposition lacked moral authority to raise the issue now.

Sridhar Babu said the Congress government ensured salaries were credited on the first day of every month, unlike the earlier practice of paying them by the 20th. He said the government safeguarded employee welfare, GPF accounts and other benefits without disruption.

He added that the government continued to take steps to address employee concerns in a systematic manner. The Minister accused the BRS of politicising employee issues despite its past record.

The exchange intensified as both sides traded accusations and counter-accusations, briefly disrupting proceedings during zero hour.