Hyderabad, May 27 -- The Telangana Congress government ordered the reinstatement of a hired RTC bus driver from Jagtial after a social media row over his removal, with Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar stepping in to reverse the decision and transfer the depot manager who issued the order.

The incident began on May 25 during a protest organised by Congress leaders, including state Welfare Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar, at Jagtial town. Ashok, a hired driver operating an RTC bus, publicly urged the ruling party to focus on procuring paddy and maize rather than holding protests over fuel price hikes. A video of his remarks, along with an alleged notice from an RTC depot manager asking for his removal, went viral on social media and drew s...