After refusing to give permission to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from visiting on May 7, the Osmania University has once again become a fertile ground for unrest as the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) activists backed by the Telangana Congress have been staging protests for the last two days. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Revanth Reddy has also moved the Telangana High Court against the university’s decision.
NSUI president Venkat Balmoor and 17 other activists have been arrested for vandalizing the campus, which has turned into a virtual fortress with the police restricting the entry to outsiders following Sunday’s violence when Balmoor and others barged into the campus and tried to throw stones at the Vice Chancellor’s office.
The Osmania University released a statement on Monday saying no political visits would be entertained on the campus in a bid to prevent any law and order situation.
In their official response to the media, the Osmania University clarified that the permission for Rahul Gandhi’s “non-political” visit was sought on April 22 but the university’s highest executive body had already taken a resolution last year that they would not permit any political or religious organization to hold any gathering on the campus.
In addition to the ongoing MBA examinations, which started on April 30, the campus will also hold elections for non-gazetted officers/OU technical staff and employee union on May 7, the same date when Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to visit the campus.
“We want to avoid any potential law and order situation for the sake of students. We had also denied permission to BJP MP Tejashvi Surya when he wanted to visit the campus in 2020. Rules remain the same everyone,” a senior university professor told News18.
Rahul Gandhi will be camping in Telangana for two days where he is expected to hold a mega political rally in Warangal on May 6.
With Rahul Gandhi’s visit, the Telangana Congress will be officially mobilizing itself for the 2023 assembly elections even as it faces a big challenge from the TRS, which is confident of coming back to power for a third term and the BJP, which is aggressively expanding its footprints in the state, buoyed by its victory in two bypolls and a strong performance in the 2020 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election.
While the NSUI and Youth Congress members have been leading a state-wide protest after their leader was denied the permission to visit the campus, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and students’ associations affiliated with the TRS organized protests to say Rahul should not be allowed to visit the university.
“At the peak of an academic year, Rahul Gandhi wants to disturb the peace and harmony of the Osmania University. What kind of futuristic vision that Rahul Gandhi talks about is being showcased here,” BJP spokesperson Krishnaa Saagar Rao said.
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