Hyderabad: A week after the fiasco in the declaration of results of the Intermediate exam in Telangana, political parties such as Congress, BJP and several student outfits stepped up protests at the Board of Intermediate Education office.
The protesters demanded removal of the State education minister G Jagadeesh Reddy, suspension of BIE secretary, and also wanted judicial inquiry into the entire matter and compensation to families of students who had allegedly committed suicide. The police took into custody scores of workers and students’ activists in the process.
According to media reports, the Congress, TDP, CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) jointly called for a ‘Maha Dharna’ and the alleged failures of the BIE and the negligent attitude of the ruling TRS government towards the conduct of Intermdiate exams.
Many party leaders were put under house arrest across the state, the parties claimed. Telangana TDP President L Ramana, CPI state secretary Chada Venkat Reddy, Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) chief M Kodandaram were among the leaders who were either taken into preventive custody or put under house arrest. More than 20 students have committed suicide since 18 April after the results were declared, claimed Congress leaders.
Meanwhile, state BJP president K Laxman began an indefinite fast outside his party office. However, the police removed him from the spot and shifted him to the state-run Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, claiming that he was shifted in view of his health condition. Laxman condemned the action and announced that he would continue his fast.
Amid the protests, the Telangana High Court directed the Education department and BIE officials to complete the recounting and re-verification of papers by 8 May and submit a report before it in this regard.
The students also made a vain bid to lay siege to the Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education office and Pragathi Bhavan, the official residence complex-cum-camp office of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
The police foiled attempts by activists of Students’ Federation of India, Progressive Democratic Students Union, Democratic Youth Federation of India, All India Democratic Students’ Organisation and other students’ organisations to barge into the TSBIE office and strengthened the security cover at the office.
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat activists also protested and many were taken into preventive custody when they tried to hold protests near Pragathi Bhavan.
The protesters also demanded “blacklisting” the private firm which was given contract for data collection and processing of the results. They also sought ex gratia for over 20 students, who they alleged committed suicide after the results were declared.
Some students claimed they either failed or got poor marks though they had done well in exams. The TSBIE imposed a fine on a private educational institute lecturer who served as examiner and suspended a lecturer after a second-year (final) Intermediate girl student was allegedly given ’00’ marks even though she secured 99 marks in Telugu paper, an official release said Sunday night.
Following allegations of bungling in the announcement of results, protests by students, parents, students’ organisations and political parties are being held across the state over the past one week. Senior Congress leader and former minister J Geetha Reddy claimed that the dharna call given by the party was successful. She alleged that police forcibly took scores of party workers into custody across the state.
She also claimed that a committee headed by former education minister K Srihari had earlier rejected the private company and demanded an inquiry as to how the incapable firm was given contract for data collection. She demanded that the education minister be sacked and Rs 50 lakh ex gratia be given to the families of each student who allegedly committed suicide.