The biggest issue facing the AP Government today is the employees strike. With the strike threatening to cripple the already beleaguered government and the general administration, YS Jagan and his team are hoping for a last minute miracle. Despite the bravado, the government is jittery about the impact of the strike.
Several back-channel discussions are on to avert the strike. Chief secretary, principal secretary of finance, chief minister's advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy are talking to the employees at various levels and through various channels to avoid the strike. Though the Jagan government is firm about the PRC and HRA and has said that the financial situation doesn't allow any elbow space for economic jostling, it is using back-channel diplomacy to convince the employees.
One person conspicuous by his absence in all this hullabaloo is the finance minister. Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy is nowhere in the picture. He is not seen in the secretariat. There is no news of his meetings with the employees unions. If sources are to be believed, he has not been visiting the secretariat of late.
The big question is how the finance minister can keep himself away from an issue which essentially involves funds and finances. Any decision on the salary hike and PRC needs to involve the finance minister. But he is not to be seen anywhere in the picture. This is giving rise to several questions. If sources are to be believed, Buggana is busy talking to the Central Government and other funding agencies for additional loans to see the state government through. With this kind of precarious financial position, can the state government ever pay the hiked salaries to the employees?