BJLP leader Maheshwar Reddy detained

Hyderabad: Tension prevailed near the State Assembly when police arrested BJP Legislative Party Leader A Maheshwar Reddy, who had come out to express his solidarity with the BJYM leaders and activists who gave a call to lay siege to the State Assembly demanding the state government to cancel the sale of 400 acres of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) lands. The BJP leaders alleged that the police had arrested their legislature party leader and took him to different places in the city in violation of the member’s rights. Later, the BJP MLAs A Maheshwar Reddy, Payal Shankar, Rama Rao Patel, Palvai Harish, and Danpal Suryanarayana have staged a protest on the assembly premises against the Congress government’s stance.

Earlier, tension ensued when leaders and members of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) attempted to lay siege to the State Assembly, demanding the government retract its decision to sell 400 acres of land belonging to the University of Hyderabad (UoH). However, police detained the protesters to prevent them from reaching the assembly, which was in Budget Session on Tuesday.

Led by BJYM State President Sevilla Mahender, the leaders and activists of the BJP’s youth wing accused the Congress party of trying to sell the university land for commission, despite having come to power by making false promises. Mahender stated that the state government showed no interest in constructing its own buildings for welfare institutions for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Backward Classes (BC). He also claimed that the Congress administration was actively selling public lands to facilitate transactions with the central government.

He noted that the Central government had sanctioned a central university for Telangana as part of the Mulki Rules. Subsequently, the then-state government allocated 2,300 acres of land to the University. Mahender explained that the area was once filled with rocks, hills, trees, and wildlife but has developed significantly over the years. Now the University of Hyderabad is recognised as one of the top universities in the country and a source of pride for Telangana. The BJYM alleged that the state government conspired to auction off university land by engaging with real estate interests.

They recalled that the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government had also constructed roads on university property and attempted to seize university land.

The protesters demanded immediate withdrawal of the proposal; otherwise, they threatened to launch a statewide agitation to protect UoH lands. State Vice Presidents Mahesh, Chittaranjan, Kumar Yadav, and Tarun Reddy, along with State General Secretaries Ganesh and Samala Pawan, State Secretaries Praveen and Ashok joined the protests.