1 week ago
Telangana BJP Chief Begins Hunger Strike Over Fee Dues
Telangana BJP leader N Ramachander Rao started a two-day hunger strike.
He wants the government to pay money owed for students’ tuition fees.
The BJP gave different figures in the reports, saying the dues were either Rs 12,000 crore or nearly Rs 15,000 crore.
It also said either 20 lakh or 40 lakh students were affected.
Rao said some colleges are keeping students’ original certificates because they have not received the money.
He said colleges are also having trouble paying their workers.
Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the Congress government is paying old dues left by the earlier BRS government.
He also said advance payments would be provided to eligible students from this academic year.
Both sides blamed each other for the problem.
Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao began a 48-hour hunger strike in Hyderabad on Monday over unpaid student fee reimbursements.
BJP accounts put the pending dues at either Rs 12,000 crore affecting 20 lakh students or nearly Rs 15,000 crore affecting 40 lakh students.
Rao said private colleges are withholding students’ original certificates and struggling to pay teaching and non-teaching staff.
The BJP attributed Rs 8,000 crore of the Rs 12,000-crore figure to the former BRS government and Rs 4,000 crore to the Congress government.
Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the Congress government was clearing old BRS-era dues and would provide advance reimbursements from this academic year.
- Who
- Telangana BJP president N Ramachander Rao launched the protest; Minister Ponnam Prabhakar responded on behalf of the Congress-led state government.
- What
- Rao began a 48-hour hunger strike demanding payment of pending student fee reimbursement dues.
- Where
- The hunger strike began at the Telangana BJP office in Hyderabad; the BJP said permission to hold it at Dharna Chowk was denied.
- When
- The BJP announced the protest on Sunday, and Rao began the hunger strike on Monday.
- Why
- The BJP says unpaid reimbursements are harming students and private colleges, while the government says it is clearing old dues and arranging advance payments.
BJP allegations
Congress government response
Scale of the pending dues
BJP allegations
Rao said pending reimbursements total Rs 12,000 crore in two accounts and nearly Rs 15,000 crore in another, leaving millions of students’ futures uncertain.
Congress government response
Ponnam Prabhakar did not accept the BJP’s framing in the reported response and said the Congress government was clearing old dues left by the BRS government.
Impact on students and colleges
BJP allegations
The BJP said colleges are withholding original certificates and struggling to pay staff because reimbursements have not been released.
Congress government response
Prabhakar said advance reimbursements would be provided through banks from the current academic year and that welfare-hostel funds were being allocated through a green channel.
Responsibility for the crisis
BJP allegations
Rao blamed the BRS for Rs 8,000 crore in earlier arrears and the Congress government for adding Rs 4,000 crore, and demanded accountability from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Rahul Gandhi.
Congress government response
Prabhakar said the Congress was clearing arrears inherited from the BRS and challenged Rao to bring funds that the BJP-led Central government allegedly owes Telangana.
Protest permission
BJP allegations
The BJP said police permission to hold the 48-hour fast at Hyderabad’s Dharna Chowk was denied, so it held the protest at its state office.
Congress government response
The reports do not provide the government’s explanation for denying permission.
Key facts
- BJP-reported dues
- The articles cite pending fee reimbursement dues of Rs 12,000 crore in two reports and nearly Rs 15,000 crore in another.
- Students reportedly affected
- The BJP cited about 20 lakh students in two reports and 40 lakh students in another.
- BRS arrears
- Rao said Rs 8,000 crore was pending when the BRS government left office in December 2023.
- Congress-attributed addition
- Rao attributed Rs 4,000 crore of the Rs 12,000-crore figure to the Congress government.
- Protest duration
- Rao’s hunger strike is scheduled to last 48 hours.
- Government allocation
- Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced Rs 2,400 crore in advance fee reimbursements from the current academic year and said Rs 250 crore was available for payments.
- Government response
- Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the Congress government was clearing old BRS-era dues and would provide advance payments through banks to SC, ST, BC and minority students.
Quotes
N. Ramchander Rao
Telangana BJP president
“This government has miserably failed to implement every major promise made to students and youth. Due to the Congress government's negligence and irresponsibility, Telangana's education system has plunged into a severe crisis. The education, jobs, and futures of lakhs of students have become uncertain. The Congress government should remember one thing — these very students and youth you've deceived will topple your government tomorrow.”
thehansindia.com
“If Rahul Gandhi truly has the guts, and if he genuinely cares about students' futures as he's been claiming lately, he should come to Telangana and get the pending fee reimbursement dues released through his Congress government.”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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