Sonia Gandhi takes up beedi worker's cause

Hyderabad, Nov 22: With major opposition parties, including the TRS, TDP and BJP, striving to make electoral gain out of the Centre's Health warning in the crucial bypoll to the Lok Sabha from beedi workers dominated Karimnagar, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has stepped in.

The UPA Chairperson has directed All India Congress Committee General Secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Digvijay Singh to get in touch with all central departments concerned and protect the interests of the beedi workers, official sources here said.

Ms Gandhi's direction came in the wake of Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy drawing her attention to the plight of beedi workers, following the Union Government's order to prominently display the ''Skull and Bones'' picture and danger signal on beedi packets from February 2007, official sources said.

She directed Mr Digvijay Singh to make all efforts and see that an ordinance or an order was issued to reduce the size of warning to a bare minimum, they said, adding that Mr Singh, who discussed the issue indepth with the Chief Minister here assured the latter that a decision to protect the interests of the beedi workers would be taken soon, and if needed, a notification or a Central Government Order would be issued.

During the meeting, Dr Reddy impressed upon Mr Singh that lakhs of beedi workers were depending upon the industry for their livelihood and the statutory warning on beedi bundles should be restricted to the minimum.

Earlier, Dr Reddy, had written separate letters to Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and Union Minister of State for Labour(Independent charge) Oscar Fernandes, urging them to issue the necessary notification immediately to protect the interests of the beedi workers. They, in turn, assured Dr Reddy that necessary steps would be initiated.

The Chief Minister during his recent visit to Karimnagar had personally assured the beedi workers that he would take up the issue with the Centre and settle it at the earliest.

Dr Reddy criticised the TRS Chief and former Union Labour Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao for doing nothing to protect the interests of the beedi workers when he was in power, but only misguiding them for his gains in the bypoll.

The previous NDA Government had enacted a legislation in the wake of the Supreme Court directive. The GO 297 was issued on July 5, 2006, making it mandatory to carry the statutory warning from February 2007.

UNI