AP Govt wants Centre to modify 'Skull and Bone Order'

Hyderabad, Nov 16 (UNI) Anticipating that the Centre's directive making printing of ''skull and cross bones'' symbol mandatory on bidi packets could have an adverse impact in the Karimnagar Lok Sabha byelection, the Congress Government in Andhra Pradesh has written to the Union government requesting them to modify the order.

Addressing a press conference here, Health Minister K Rosaiah said Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, on a representation from bidi workers, had appealed to the Centre to reconsider its order and restrict the display of health warning to 20 per cent of the principal display area of the beedi pack.

Bidi workers fear losing their jobs and closure of large number of bidi factories when the order comes into force from February 2007.

Dr Reddy had already spoken to Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes and Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramdoss in this regard and followed it with letters, Mr Rosaiah said.

Assuring the agitated bidi workers that a special leave petition would be moved in the Supreme Court, if needed, to modify its directive to the Centre making it compulsory to display health warning signal in 50 per cent of the principal display area, the Health Minister said the bidi workers need not be unduly be disturbed over the order.

''The printing of statutory warning on cigarette packets has little effect on cigarette sales, which is always goining up'', he added.

Irked over the charge by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and the Bharatiya Janata Party that the order would result in large scale closure of bidi industries, he wanted know what TRS Chief and former Union Labour Minister K Chandrasekar Rao and BJP leader and former Union Minister of State for Home Ch Vidyasagar Rao were doing when they were in power.

The legislation to print danger symbol was enacted during the previous NDA regime and the rules making it mandatory, were framed when the TRS leader was very much a member of the Manmohan Singh Government, he recalled and accused the TRS and BJP of politicising the issue for electoral gains.

UNI SM VD HT1650