Telangana Assembly poll candidates from five constituencies — either migrant workers or their kin — are highlighting these demands.
Contestants (Left to right): Donikeni Krishna, Buthkuri Kantha, Guggilla Ravi Goud, Swadesh Parkipandla, and Chennamaneni Srinivas Rao. (Supplied)
“Boggu Baavi (Coal mine), Bombai (Mumbai), Dubai (Gulf countries)…” the slogan reverberated during the Telangana statehood movement, referring to the migrant-worker crisis.
In the run-up to the high-voltage Assembly elections in Telangana on 30 Movember, five candidates — either migrant workers or their kin — are contesting from Nirmal, Vemulavada, Sircilla, Dharmapuri, and Korutla Assembly constituencies, highlighting the demands of Gulf workers and their migration issues.
Four candidates — Guggilla Ravi Goud from Vemulawada, Chennamaneni Srinivas Rao from Korutla, Swadesh Parkipandla from Nirmal, and Buthkuri Kantha from Dharmapuri — are contesting as All India Forward Bloc candidates.
Meanwhile, Donikeni Krishna is contesting as an independent candidate from Sircilla.
According to the Telangana Gulf Workers’ Joint Action Committee (TGWJAC), there are around 10-12 lakh workers from the state in the Gulf countries.
The main demand of the candidates is a Gulf Workers’ Welfare Board with a comprehensive NRI policy to ensure safe and legal migration. The board in demand is similar to the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NoRKA), a state-run board for the welfare of migrants from the state.
Additionally, they are also demanding a Migrant Welfare Fund with an annual budget of ₹500 crore — as promised by Telangana Chief Minister and BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao. They wish for the fund to be used to create awareness for safe and legal migration, and also help in skill development so that the workers land better jobs.
Besides, there is also a demand to help the workers who return, so that they may reintegrate into society and find job opportunities.
The fund is also expected to be used to provide legal aid to the workers who are arrested — most of them because of a lack of knowledge of local rules. It could also be used for other needs of workers, such as hospitalisation, and for return tickets of stranded workers.
Those working in the Gulf countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — have to deal with the kafala (sponsorship) system, which gives private citizens and companies in Jordan, Lebanon, and most Arab Gulf countries almost total control over migrant workers’ employment and immigration status.
The Gulf workers haven’t found a mention in the BRS’s manifesto. Meanwhile, KCR on multiple occasions, has discouraged migration, suggesting that people of Telangana should work in the state, given the supposed job opportunities created by his government.
His son and incumbent Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao, in a recent interview with YouTuber Gangavva, expressed similar views.
Incidentally, the BRS supremo, in an election rally in Nizamabad on 17 November, announced that ₹5 lakh insurance would be extended to Gulf workers as well. On Sunday, 26 November, KTR reiterated this in Sircilla, and also promised a “Gulf package”.
The chief minister promised a Gulf board in 2014, and later an annual ₹500 crore fund for the welfare of workers.
While the BJP manifesto promises a ministry for overseas residents, especially in the Gulf, the Congress manifesto promises to establish a welfare board for Gulf workers.
Jagtial’s Congress candidate T Jeevan Reddy also promised a Gulf policy if elected, which would provide financial assistance of ₹5 lakh to the family in case of migrant deaths.
Migrant rights activist Manda Bheem Reddy of the TGWJAC told South First that the main agenda for contesting the polls was to highlight the issues of Gulf workers.
He said, “We have been working on the ground for many years. We fought for Telangana from the front lines. But we have realised that we must make our presence felt politically for our cries to be heard.”
Recollecting the “Boggu Baavi, Bombai, Dubai” slogan, which refers to the inter-district (working in the Singareni coal mines), interstate (shifting to Maharastra for work), and inter-country migration (going to the Gulf countries for work), Bheem Reddy said all the major parties had forgotten about Gulf workers.
He added, “The ruling parties in the state and the Centre and the main Opposition in both places — the BRS, the BJP, and the Congress — haven’t done anything for us. The Union government can do a lot in terms of an NRI policy and the External Affairs Ministry. It didn’t.”
Of the chances of the contestants in the fray, and response they are eliciting from the people, he said: “We are expecting our Korutla candidate — Srinivas Rao — to win. The margin would be very narrow anyhow. So, we are using our energies there now.”
Srinivas Rao from Korutla said only a welfare board would ease the difficulties of Gulf workers. He told South First, “Though I’ve seen the issues of many of my friends, and family working in Dubai, and Qatar, it was my close friend’s death that made me question the system.”
Rao, the son of a beedi worker, said, “His body was sent after many days. By the time the body reached us, it had decomposed. His mother couldn’t see her son for one last time. It was the failure of the state.”
Claiming that the state government did nothing to increase job prospects, Rao said the closure of the Muthyampeta sugar factory in 2015 led to job loss, furthering migration.
Krishna, contesting as an independent from Sircilla, which is represented by KT Rama Rao, worked in the Gulf countries for 13 years. He started the Gulf Worker Awareness Centre to help the workers navigate legal and visa issues.
He told South First there are no systems in place for such workers. “We have transported nearly 500 dead bodies in the last 10 years with our own money.”
Buthkuri Kantha, contesting from the Dharmapuri constituency, is a Gulf worker’s widow. She has a BA in Economics and Political Science. In 2012, Kantha lost her husband in an accident in the Gulf, where he had gone to work.
Kantha said if there were proper job opportunities in their region, he wouldn’t have gone to another country for work.
She added, “Migration is not wrong. As humans, we have the right to go to any country and work. But it shouldn’t be forced due to lack of opportunities in our homeland.”
Speaking of their demands, Kantha said the main one would be providing safety to the workers in all aspects — legal, health, and social.
She told South First: “The annual migrant fund of ₹500 crore should be made available. It should be used to help the families of migrant workers.”
Kantha also asked for the reintegration of returnees into the workforce. “Instead of increasing the retirement age to 61 years and making older people work, the government should provide work opportunities to these younger people,” she suggested.
Swadesh Parkipandla, contesting from Nirmal, has a double MA and a BEd. He has been working with migrant workers and is also the president of the Pravasi Mitra Labour Union.
Asked if the migration had decreased in the past nine years after Telangana’s formation, Swadesh replied in the negative. “In fact, migration increased after the Covid-19 crisis,” he said.
“Migration is linked to civilisation. It won’t stop suddenly. Nor is it something that should be stopped. Instead, we must ensure safe migration,” he explained.
Referring to the ₹500 crore fund, he told South First, “The government earns from the Gulf workers’ earnings. Every time we send money home, taxes are deducted. It is estimated about ₹27,000 crore is received by the government annually. Can’t they allocate ₹500 crore from that?”
He added: “No one is addressing our issues, including unions. That is why we are fighting for our cause.”
May 16, 2024
May 16, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024
