The Telugu Desam Party has (TDP) on Wednesday put the YSRCP government on a week’s notice, asking it to rescind the G.O. 42 pertaining to withdrawing support to the aided educational institutions in the State. The party also warned to launch a prolonged agitation unless the G.O. was revoked.
Sounding the bugle for the agitation in Anantapur on Wednesday, TDP national general secretary N. Lokesh put forward three demands that he felt should be fulfilled immediately for not kicking off their proposed agitation along with the Communist Party of India (CPI).
After a two-hour public meeting on the city outskirts, Mr. Lokesh came in a rally to the SSBN College and spoke to the students to understand their problems.
The three demands included withdrawal of government orders in relation to the proposed change in the status of the aided educational institutions, immediate action against the police personnel responsible for the lathi-charge on the SSBN College students, and withdrawal of all ‘false cases’ against the student union leaders across the State.
In a meeting attended by the SSBN College students and the CPI and the TDP cadre, CPI State Secretary K. Ramakrishna and Mr. Lokesh expressed concern that a majority of the close to 2 lakh Intermediate and degree students of aided colleges would not be able to afford fees in private colleges as they came from poor financial background.
“The aided system brought in by the Woods Commission in 1854. The government is eyeing the properties of the aided institutions by privatision or merger,” said Mr. Lokesh.
Condeming the police action, he said there was no need for them to enter the college premises when students were staging a sit-in peacefully, adding that there was an ‘evil design’ in privatising the SSBN College, which was set up by philonthrophic contribution of Sirivaram Adinarayana and donations from several local citizens.
Mr. Ramakrishna questioned the managing committee as to what was it doing when the police were ‘beating up’ their students and that why did its chairman P.L.N. Reddy did not protect the students.
The CPI leader found fault with Anantapur DSP G. Veeraraghava Reddy’s actions, saying that it instigated the other police personnel including special party police to ‘go berserk’ on the students. “As alleged by Education Minister A. Suresh, the Opposition will resort to politics to protect the interests of the students,” Mr. Ramakrishna added.