Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao on Thursday, July 23, chose to join the protest against the NEET paper leak in Hyderabad instead of celebrating his milestone 50th birthday.
In a post on X, the former Telangana minister extended his support to the students and announced that he would join the protest organised by Bharat Rashtra Samithi Vidyarthi (BRSV) at the Dharna Chowk on Friday, July 24.
“The voice of India’s youth cannot be crushed through force. I will be joining the BRSV protest tomorrow at 10:00 AM at Indira Park, Hyderabad, in solidarity against the brutal crackdown on students and youth in Delhi,” he tweeted.
He called on everyone, including students, youth and elders, to join the protest and stand up for the constitutional right to dissent.
While KTR was preparing to join the protest with BRSV on Friday, students affiliated to K Kavitha’s Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) were detained by the Hyderabad Police while they were organising a hunger strike at Osmania University in solidarity with the students protesting against the NEET UG paper leak on Thursday, July 23.
Videos shared on social media showed students being detained by the Osmania University Police.
Speaking to Siasat.com, an official from the Osmania University Police said that seven members of the student group were detained for protesting without permission.
KTR’s announcement comes at a time when a large number of students affiliated to various organisations have protested against the NEET paper leak. On Thursday, Telangana women and transgender organisations Joint Action Committee (JAC) organised a protest against the same at the Dharna Chowk.
On July 21, several people gathered at People’s Plaza in Hyderabad to protest against the Delhi Police’s brutality on the protesting students during the “Chalo Sansad” march. The protest was organised by Disha Students Organisation and the Naujawan Bharat Sabha.
It featured protest songs, poetry, slogans and creative placards, while organisers distributed pamphlets explaining their demands and urging more people to join the movement.
They called the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government anti-student and anti-people and accused them for the systematic decline of the education system and the rise of rampant corruption.
“The use of lathi-charge and tear gas would not weaken young people. We will not rest with the resignation of the Union Education Minister. We will continue until systemic reforms are introduced in the education sector and unemployment is addressed,” Disha Students Organisation member Mahipal had said.
