In a first setback to the Congress government in Telangana led by chief minister A Revanth Reddy, the state high court on Thursday dismissed its petition seeking postponement of elections to the prestigious Singareni Collieries trade unions.
The high court directed that the elections should be held to the Singareni Collieries trade unions on December 27, as decided earlier.
The high court rejected the plea of the Congress government for postponement of the elections on the ground that the new government was formed only two weeks ago and it needed some more time to make the arrangements for the polls.
It requested that the trade union elections be postponed till the completion of elections to the Lok Sabha in March, as the official machinery, which was busy with the Telangana assembly elections, is being reshuffled and the new officials needed some time to adjust to their duties.
However, the deputy solicitor general arguing for central labour commissioner said all arrangements had been made for the Singareni elections, as the previous state government had given an undertaking to the court in October that it would conduct the elections on December 27.
“The previous government already sought postponement of elections several times in the past and so, it cannot be postponed again. The management also gave an undertaking that it would conduct the elections to the unions irrespective of the outcome of the assembly elections,” the deputy solicitor general said.
On September 28, Central deputy labour commissioner (CDLC) D Srinivasulu, who is also the returning officer for the elections issued a notification for the conduct of elections for the recognised union of the Singareni Collieries on October 28.
The Singareni management expressed helplessness in conducting the elections at this stage, as the police and district officials would be busy with the preparations for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
Even major trade unions, including Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) affiliated to the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) affiliated to the Congress, are not keen on conducting the elections now because the election results might impact the outcome of the assembly elections in the coal belt areas.
The high court also agreed with the CDLC that the elections were due to be held in 2019 itself but had been postponed several times. “So, the elections have to be held at any cost before October 30,” the court said.
But with the state government giving an undertaking that it would hold Singareni polls after the assembly elections, the high court deferred the polls to December 27.
