Congress stages walkout from Kerala Assembly to protest govt inaction on KSRTC strike

Congress-led opposition on Thursday staged a walkout from Kerala Assembly to protest against the strike by Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).

Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said that the 6-hour strike, that left thousands stranded, shows the "total failure" of the administration.

"Yesterday when the strike was happening, I raised the issue in the Assembly. The Transport Minister said the district collector will interfere. But what we saw was complete anarchy. A person died waiting for the bus. But none from the government even cared to visit his family in the hospital nor the government announced any compensation," he said.

The Congress leader was referring to the death of a 64-year-old heart patient, Surendran, who was waiting for the bus after visiting the hospital and died as he was left stranded. The KSRTC buses were parked on main roads in order to block the entire traffic.

Chennithala said the Chief Minister and the Transport Minister both were absent in the House when the opposition moved an adjournment motion on the issue.

"Ministers heading the department kept away from the discussion, which shows the lackadaisical attitude of the government towards people's problems, " he said.

Meanwhile, IUML leader MK Muneer said that the government is responsible for putting the common man into such a hardship.

"The Chief Minister travels with many escort vehicles. For him, traffic is cleared. Yesterday, the common man suffered as the busses were parked on main roads bringing the entire traffic to a halt. A man waiting for a bus after going to the hospital died and thousands were left stranded. This was happening right in the city where the Chief Minister and other ministers are working. But they did not do anything and the common man suffered for six hours," he said.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, speaking on behalf of the government, told the House that the police have registered cases against KSRTC employees for blocking roads by parking buses on them. "The government will take stern action once we get the report from the district collector. KSRTC drivers parked buses on roads and left with the keys. The police have registered cases against 8 KSRTC employees for incidents related to the flash strike," he said.