BJP slams GO 97, alleges bid to grab land of educational institution

Police placing BJP State president N. Ramchander Rao under preventive house arrest at his Tarnaka residence, in Hyderabad, on Thursday.

State BJP president N. Ramchander Rao on Thursday accused the Congress government of attempting to weaken the education system and facilitate the transfer of valuable educational institution lands to real estate interests.

Speaking to the media at his residence in Tarnaka after being placed under preventive house arrest, Mr. Rao said police stopped him from visiting the Government Polytechnic College in Ramanthapur along with BJP Yuva Morcha activists.

Condemning the police action, he said the deployment of personnel around his residence to prevent the visit reflected the Congress government’s “cowardice”. He asserted that arrests, imprisonment or even the invocation of the Preventive Detention (PD) Act would not deter the BJP from fighting for students’ rights, including fee reimbursement and scholarships.

“The future of nearly 40 lakh students in Telangana is at stake, and the BJP will continue its struggle on their behalf,” he said. The ‘controversial’ GO 97 and the proposed “Shakti” scheme in polytechnic colleges would adversely affect technical education, lead to the scrapping of the Engineering Common Entrance Test (ECET), and discourage students from pursuing engineering courses, charged Mr. Rao.

Alleging that the government’s “real intention was to grab prime institutional lands worth thousands of crores” in Masab Tank, Ramanthapur, Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda, he demanded the immediate withdrawal of GO 97 and dismissed committees involving K. Keshava Rao and M. Kodandaram as mere “delay tactics”.

The BJP chief further alleged that both the BRS and Congress governments had weakened the education sector by failing to recruit faculty in universities over the past decade, withholding adequate funds, and forcing institutions to depend on block grants.

Mr. Rao questioned the status of the ₹1,000 crore promised to Osmania University by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy a year ago and highlighted the plight of school teachers, saying many were awaiting promotions, health cards and timely pension benefits. He urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to visit Telangana and direct the State government to address students’ grievances and implement the National Education Policy (NEP).

Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson N.V. Subhash condemned the preventive detention of party leaders and workers in Ramanthapur, Malkajgiri and other parts of Hyderabad, questioning whether Telangana was witnessing democratic governance or “police rule.”