Rahul Gandhi raises plight of DTC workers, bats for 'equal work and equal pay'

New Delhi, Sept 2 (IANS) The Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Monday sought to draw the nation's attention to the plight of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) employees, including the Home Guards and lamented over their "job of great responsibility" being reduced to "a state of compulsion."

The Congress MP took to X on Monday and highlighted their fears of job insecurity and economic hardships.

"No social security, no stable income and no permanent job – contractual labour has reduced a job of great responsibility to a state of compulsion," the LoP said.

Rahul's concerns over the state of affairs for DTC workers come days after he undertook a bus ride, where he interacted with bus drivers, conductors and marshals and also saw their 'travails' from close quarters.

He claimed that drivers and conductors are living in the darkness of uncertainty while Home Guards have gone unpaid for the past six months.

"While drivers and conductors are forced to live in the darkness of uncertainty, the Home Guards who are continuously deployed for the safety of passengers are without salary for the last 6 months," Rahul wrote on X.

Training guns at the government, he said that DTC workers are much like other government employees across the country, but they are constantly living under the fear of privatisation.

"These are the people who run India, who facilitate the travel of millions of commuters every day - but all they have got in return for their dedication is injustice. The demands are clear – equal work, equal pay, complete justice," he demanded.

Rahul Gandhi undertook a DTC bus ride near the Sarojini Nagar Bus depot last week, where he met with many bus drivers and conductors, as well as marshals, to discuss their issues. The DTC employees interacted with the Congress MP and also informed him about their daily problems and struggles.

He had also shared these pictures on social media, drawing applause from Congress leaders, including sister Priyanka Gandhi.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, in an X post, wrote that the DTC are running the corporation with their hard work but were finding it hard to run their households due to economic hardships.

"It is important to listen to their Mann Ki Baat. Rahul Gandhi is constantly listening to them and raising his voice for their justice," she had remarked.