In a unique demonstration, agricultural students from the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Students Association in Vijayawada held a protest at Krishna River’s Durga ghat, by standing in waist-deep water, and demanding the restoration of Government Order (GO) 64.
This comes after a large number of students protested for the abolishment of the GO, alleging that it was violating norms and standards, and appealed to the Andhra government to prevent individuals without necessary accreditation, entering the state’s agriculture department.
Students also sought support from actor-politician and Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan, who in return supported the students saying, “Allowing individuals from colleges without Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR ) accreditation and adding to that, allowing fake degree holders, will ruin farmers and the economy.”
In the wake of the protests from students, the state government recently withdrew the controversial GO.
However, this has triggered off a fresh set of protests from the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Students Association, who claimed that ICAR is in no way, related to standards in agricultural studies.
They demanded that Pawan Kalyan also support them, and said that he should have not extended his support to the other side, without studying the issue in detail, The Hindu Reported.
They also alleged that more than 30,000 students and their careers will be affected by the move, as many colleges don't have accreditation from ICAR.
Speaking to a local channel, a student said, "We are definitely protesting against Pawan Kalyan. He must come and answer."
Following the state’s bifurcation in 2014, the Andhra Pradesh government chose to replace GO number 16 with GO number 64, while the Telangana government continued with GO number 16.
GO number 16, which was released in 2000, makes accreditation from ICAR mandatory.
The new GO issued by the Andhra government allegedly removed the words, “accredited by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research", which resulted in a free flow of individuals into government agricultural services, without acquiring valid degrees.