The TSRTC employees were being misled by the union leaders (File)
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who is facing a massive protest from the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) employees, on Thursday, said that the huge victory of his party's candidate in the Huzurnagar bypolls is the people's reply to the opposition's criticism.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi candidate Shanampudi Saidi Reddy won with a margin of over 43,000 seats on Thursday.
Mr Rao said there is an increase of more than 50,000 votes in the TRS vote share compared to last election in which Uttar Kumar Reddy had won.
This time, the Congress leader's wife N Padmavathi Reddy contested against the TRS candidate and lost. The BJP candidate has lost the election deposit.
Mr Rao today said he will hold a public meeting in Huzurnagar on Saturday to thank the people of the constituency. He had to cancel a rally before the polls due to bad weather.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the strike, Mr Rao said the strike was illegal and the employees were being misled by the union leaders.
"If they go on this path and insist on merging the RTC with the government, then there won't be any RTC left. The courts cannot resolve this issue,'' he said.
"Do those going on the strike have any sense or wisdom?'' he added.
The strike by the employees of state-run TSRTC has intensified since it began on October 5, with political parties and other taxi unions lending support to them. The employees want the government to meet their 26 demands, including a merger with the government. The KCR government, however, has refused to entertain their requests and has sacked over 48,000 employees who joined the protests.