Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) questioned senior Congress member and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on his party’s stance on the destruction of the 400 acres of University of Hyderabad (UoH) land.
In an X pot on Monday, March 31, he demanded Gandhi speak on the ruling Congress government’s action. “If you don’t speak up now, it’s on you Mr Rahul Gandhi,” he posted on X.
Within 24 hours of intense University of Hyderabad (UoH) student protests against the Telangana government’s decision to sell 400 acres of the university, bulldozers stormed on Sunday midnight, March 30, tearing down trees and flattening the area.
Visuals of bulldozers flattening the University of Hyderabad area have emerged on social media platforms.
“This is brazen green murder by destroying 400 acres of precious lung space in western Hyderabad. You can hear the peacocks crying for help as the bulldozers and JCBs of the Congress Govt rummage,” KTR said.
Even as a PIL (public interest litigation) is pending at the Telangana High Court, for which the Congress government had sought time till April 4 to respond, it seems the state government is adamant on their decision.
Rahul Gandhi’s hypocrisy exposed: KTR
Later in the evening, while addressing the media after meeting with protesting students at Telangana Bhavan, KTR alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s hypocrisy has been exposed.
“Rahul Gandhi spoke out against the destruction of Aarey forests in Mumbai and Hasdeo forests in Chhattisgarh. He visited the University of Hyderabad twice in the past, yet today, when his own party’s government is brutalizing students and wrecking the environment, he remains silent. Why?” KTR asked.
“Can’t you hear the cries of the wildlife being crushed under bulldozers? Don’t the visuals of students being dragged and beaten reach you? Where is your commitment to democracy and the environment now?” he asked.
KTR said that the University of Hyderabad was a “beacon of excellence.” “This university was established after the first phase of the Telangana agitation and has produced scholars serving across India and the world. The students’ fight to protect its land is selfless and for the greater good,” he said.
KTR condemns brutality against students
KTR criticized the state’s harsh response to the protests, claiming that police entered the university without the vice-chancellor’s permission. “Female students were dragged, their clothes torn, and two students were arrested and jailed. Where are they now? The government must immediately disclose their whereabouts,” he demanded, calling on the DGP to take action.
He assured students of legal and moral support from BRS, stating, “We will bring this issue to every platform—Parliament, Rajya Sabha, and the public sphere—to hold Revanth Reddy and his government accountable.”
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