Land dispute: BRS working president KTR condemns police action against UoH students

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K T Rama Rao (KTR) strongly condemned the police action against students protesting the auctioning of a 400-acre land parcel in Kancha Gachibowli, adjacent to the University of Hyderabad (UoH). Questioning the Telangana government’s urgency in taking control of the disputed land, he criticised the alleged use of excessive force by law enforcement officers.

Speaking after meeting the agitating students at Telangana Bhavan, KTR accused the police of entering the university premises without the Vice-Chancellor’s permission. “Female students were dragged, their clothes torn, and two students were arrested and sent to jail. Where are they now? The government must immediately reveal their whereabouts,” he said.

He assured the students of both legal and moral support from the BRS, promising to take up the issue on multiple platforms. “We will raise this issue on every platform in Parliament and the public sphere to hold Revanth Reddy and his government responsible,” he asserted.

KTR alleged that the Congress-led State government was resorting to large-scale suppression of UoH students, who had been actively fighting to protect university land. He also questioned why the government was deploying “hundreds of bulldozers and excavators” to clear trees from the 400-acre site in Kancha Gachibowli.

Expressing concerns over environmental damage, KTR stated that Gachibowli, Nanakramguda, and the Financial District had rapidly transformed into a “concrete jungle” under the guise of development. He pointed out that the only remaining green spaces in western Hyderabad were the UoH campus and its surrounding land.

He further pressed the government on the students’ demand for an environmental impact assessment study of the disputed land. “What is wrong with the students’ demand for taking up an environmental impact assessment study for the 400-acre land parcel?” he asked.

KTR also noted that a public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the land was pending before the High Court, yet the government was “using all its might” to take control by felling trees and harming wildlife.

Assuring students that BRS would continue to advocate for their cause, he called on all political parties, including the BJP, to clarify their stance on the issue. “We demand all political parties, including the BJP, to spell out their stand on the issue,” he stated.