Hyderabad: The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) in Telangana, along with several Left-affiliated student organisations, on Wednesday, July 22, called for a statewide bandh of educational institutions on July 24 to protest the alleged use of force against students in Delhi and the central government’s handling of the education sector.
NSUI Telangana state president Yadavalli Venkataswamy told reporters that the bandh, called jointly with the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the All-India Students’ Federation (AISF), the Progressive Democratic Students’ Union (PDSU) and other Left student outfits, was being organised in solidarity with students protesting nationwide and in support of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
Venkataswamy said the detention of Gandhi while he stood with protesting students, along with the alleged use of force against students in Delhi, represented a serious attack on democratic values and the constitutional right to peaceful protest.
Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained by the Delhi Police on Tuesday, July 21, during a sit-in near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, where they were demanding accountability over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. Both were released later in the day.
NSUI’s four demands
NSUI Telangana placed four demands before the central government. These were the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the abolition of the National Testing Agency (NTA), strict action against those responsible for the alleged lathi charge on students in Delhi and protection of students’ right to peaceful protest.
Venkataswamy appealed to government and private educational institutions, students, teachers and “democratic-minded citizens” across Telangana to support the bandh, and asked NSUI’s state, district, university, assembly and college unit office-bearers to coordinate with other participating student organisations to ensure the shutdown was conducted peacefully.
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