Student unions gear up for State-wide agitation

Will keep political parties at bay, says Joint Action Committee president

: Denial of the promised Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh has rattled the student community. Student Joint Action Committees (JACs) across the State are gearing up for a State-wide agitation on the lines of the ‘Samaikhyandhra’ stir.

A strong undercurrent of disenchantment runs across university campuses in the State with students arguing that their future is linked to the special status.

‘Private sector the

only hope’

“The State is not sincere about providing jobs to the educated youth in the government sector as it has not issued a notification so far. The private sector is the only hope for students now. We need to set up industrial units to generate jobs and industries will not come until they are offered incentives that come along with Special Status. The whole exercise of employment-generation is linked to the SCS or a special package for the State. If we fail today, the future generations will not forgive us,” warns Sai Krishna Kota, an assistant professor, who is also Training and Placement Officer in Gudlavalleru Engineering College.

In July last, Prof. Sai Krishna had staged a two-day hunger strike to highlight the issue of SCS us.

To mobilise support of student JACs across the State, he is going around universities and talking to student union leaders. “Student leaders from Andhra University and Acharya Nagarjuna University have agreed to join the agitation,” he said, adding that he is scheduled to meet their counterparts in Sri Krishnadevaraya University in Anantapur and Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati on May 16.

The objective is to unite all student outfits into a single strong force and wage a relentless battle to achieve the goal. The second week of June is a tentative schedule for launch of the proposed State-wide stir. By May-end, all student JACs will be ready with their action plan.

“Unlike in the past when student agitations were hijacked by political parties, we will not allow that to happen now. Small individual protests being staged sporadically will now become one big movement,” said Ravi Kiran, State president of Students’ JAC.

Roundtable on May 22

Navyandhra Students’ JAC, yet another student body, has called for a roundtable to discuss the issue on May 22. “Students will respond in a big way as schools and colleges will re-open in June,” said Ayya Swamy, president of the outfit.

Navyandhra Hakkula Sadhana Samithi, an organisation constituted almost immediately after bifurcation, has been staging protests for the cause at regular intervals. “Special status is the need of the hour. In its absence, the budget has shrunk resulting in increased tax burden on people,” said M. Mahankali, State president of the Samithi.

Prof. Sai Krishna says the Centre would be urged to amend the AP Reorganisation Act for grant of SCS.