A BJP delegation was blocked from visiting the Hyderabad Central University campus this morning after the students protesting against the redevelopment of 400 acres of land near the university clashed with the police in Congress-ruled Telangana.
Alleti Maheshwar Reddy, the BJP’s floor leader in the Telangana assembly who would have led the delegation, told news agency PTI that the police did not let him step out of his house – that too without providing any notice. Other BJP leaders were also stopped from leaving their houses, he claimed.
Videos showed the police detaining BJP MLAs outside their state headquarters to prevent them from proceeding towards the university.
Read: Explained: The Congress-BRS Row Over 400 Acres Near Hyderabad University
“The government can bring money from wherever it wants, but it cannot generate another land adjacent to the university. They should withdraw their thoughts of selling those 400 acres of land,” BJP MLA Payal Shankar told ANI.
The BJP’s entry into the matter widens the political row after the BRS accused the police of manhandling the protesting students.
The government has made a heavy police deployment around the university campus as the Students Union vowed to continue the protest and boycott their classes until bulldozers and police personnel were removed from the campus.
They have also demanded a written assurance from the government that the land would be formally registered under the university.
Read: Tension At Hyderabad University Over Bulldozers On Land Next To Campus
The government, which claims ownership of the land adjacent to the university campus, had reportedly issued an auction proposal to set up an IT park. It had asserted the redevelopment would bring in investment, but students insist this would cause environmental damage, killing the flora and fauna.
The situation escalated on Sunday when bulldozers arrived to flatten the land. The students raising “go back” slogans climbed atop the heavy machines, which led to a face-off with the police. Dozens were detained but later released.
Justifying the police action, an official accused the students of obstructing government officials from carrying out their work.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy earlier said the land had no connection to the university and the students were being instigated. As the matter took a political turn, the BRS trained its guns at the Congress, accusing their top leader Rahul Gandhi of spreading hatred on the pretext of “Mohabbat ki Dukaan”.
“The government knew Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were Holidays, which is why they chose to cut down 400 acres forests killing green space and wildlife. Students of University of Hyderabad are requesting environmentalists to speak to save the HCU forests,” said BRS MLA KT Rama Rao yesterday.
