Fee Reimbursement Due: High Drama At Secretariat As BJP Chief Arrested Over Fee Dues
The sudden arrival of the BJP leaders at the high security Secretariat raising slogans left the police baffled
HYDERABAD: In dramatic scenes at the Secretariat, BJP state president N. Ramchander Rao was arrested along with senior party leaders after he led a ‘flash’ march to submit representations reportedly signed by more than eight lakh students demanding the release of ₹15,000 crore in fee reimbursement dues.
Rao, accompanied by BJP Legislature Party leader Aleti Maheshwar Reddy, BJYM state president Ganesh Kunde, and others reached the Secretariat after the Chief Minister’s Office allegedly failed to respond to his request for an appointment. Police stopped the protesters from entering the premises, triggering slogan shouting and a brief confrontation as the BJP workers insisted on handing over the representations.
The BJP leaders were subsequently taken away in police vehicles to different police stations. Rao was taken to the Chikkadpally station. Maheshwar Reddy, former mayor Banda Karthika Reddy, party general secretary Goutham Rao and state secretary Bhandaru Vijaya Laxmi were among those detained.
Three days ago, Rao had written to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy seeking an appointment to personally submit the representations collected from students across Telangana. With no response forthcoming, he decided to take the students’ demand directly to the seat of government.
Condemning the arrests, Rao accused the Congress government of displaying “sheer arrogance of power” and adopting an anti-student attitude. “I undertook a hunger strike, wrote to the Chief Minister and collected eight lakh signatures, yet this shameless government has not moved even an inch,” he said.
He claimed that the government could not silence nearly 40 lakh students and warned that the BJP would continue its agitation until all pending dues were cleared.
Maheshwar Reddy alleged that the arrest of elected representatives for attempting to submit a memorandum reflected the government’s “dictatorial” approach. He demanded the unconditional release of all arrested leaders and immediate payment of the reimbursement dues.
Union minister of state for home Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other BJP leaders condemned the arrests. Meanwhile, BJP SC Morcha activists cleaned the portrait of Sant Ravidas near the state party office that was allegedly smeared with black paint by the Congress activists recently and demanded action against those responsible.