Osmania University, the hotbed of the Telangana agitation which later lost the agitation sheen, saw some serious political activity after several years with Telangana Congress president A. Revanth Reddy, TJS president M. Kodandaram and other leaders associated with the Telangana movement visiting the university to participate in the 13th death anniversary of Srikantha Chary, who immolated himself for the cause of Telangana.
The programme organised by the students and involving former professor of University of Hyderabad Haragopal, former professor of Osmania University P. L. Vishweshwer Rao and several of those who were active supporters of the agitation, took some serious political colour with Mr. Revanth Reddy and Mr. Kodandaram attending it and launching a scathing attack on the government.
Mr. Revanth Reddy said the response from the students for the programme indicated that the OU students’ fight against cultural and political hegemony was intact, and was on course to change the government that he argued had betrayed the aspirations of the students. “The second Telangana movement was launched and led by the OU students like the ‘69 movement and their sacrifices should not go waste,” he said.
It was a shame that the TRS government could not even identify the people who laid down their lives in the movement, he said. “After repeatedly claiming during the movement that 1,569 people died for the Telangana cause, the TRS recognised only 550 matryrs. Not only Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao insulted the martyrs by not honouring all the 1,569 but also he had rubbed salt on the wounds by awarding the Telangana memorial contract to a person of Andhra origin,” he alleged.
He said after Telangana was formed Chief Minister did not dare to come to the OU campus even once in these 8 years as he had failed in delivering his promises. Appealing to the students to launch a movement to unseat the TRS government, he said he was ready to fight along with them to fulfill the aspirations of the people. “This government which is anti-students and anti-people should go,” he said accusing CM Chandrasekhar Rao of turning into a dictator and ruining Telangana.
