The Supreme Court’s observation on Monday that the process of EAMCET counselling should be completed by August 31 has put the Government of Telangana in a bind as it can not delay the process now in the name of finalising guidelines of Financial Assistance to Students of Telangana (FAST).
Though there was no official reaction to the development, Karimnagar MP of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) B. Vinod Kumar said the State Government would react only after going through the court order reserved for August 11. The government had once again explained its position to the apex court stating that taking up counselling was difficult for it since the division of employees was not complete and it was facing severe shortage of staff besides needing time to finalise norms for FAST scheme.
Stating that the government would abide by the court’s verdict, irrespective of its nature, the ruling party MP said it was not correct to say that the argument of Andhra Pradesh had won. He reiterated that the Telangana Government was committed to the future of its students and would only help them.
Sources in TRS, however, stated that the court verdict would be on the counselling and it would not have any bearing on the State Government’s plans to extend FAST only to Telangana native students and the issue of nativity. Extending any welfare measure is a prerogative of the State Government and it had all rights to decided upon the norms for giving benefits such as fee reimbursement.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the AP State Council of Higher Educatin (APSCHE) L. Venugopal Reddy said the court had ordered commencement of counselling process as scheduled from August 7. The process would continue till August 23 before taking up allotment of seats/colleges.
G. Kishan Reddy (BJP), K. Mahesh (Congress) and A. Rambabu (YSR Congress) have welcomed the Supreme Court decision and suggested the Telangana government to take up counselling and not to play with the future of students.
Govt. will react only after going through court order, says
B. Vinod Kumar
Not correct to say AP's argument has won, says Member of Parliament
