Police foiled the indefinite fast of Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party president K. Laxman barely a few hours after he had commenced it outside the State office near the Exhibition Grounds on Monday. The fast was in protest against the alleged apathy of the government towards the Intermediate results imbroglio.
Mr. Laxman and other party leaders were picked up from the fasting camp, arrested and taken to the Goshamahal police station from where the former was taken to Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) Punjagutta. But the BJP leader refused medical assistance and is continuing his fast when reports last came in.
Earlier, he managed to evade the police and reached the party office by a taxi whereas other party leaders like N. Ramchander Rao and MLA T. Raja Singh were said to be confined to their homes by the police. As several leaders and workers came to the fasting site to express their solidarity, he launched a blistering attack on the TRS government accusing it of not only being indifferent to sufferings of students in the wake of the results scandal, but having put the entire education sector in doldrums with no proper direction, shortage of teachers and infrastructure.
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Probe by CBI
“I appeal to the students not to take any drastic step as the BJP is with them and will go to any extent to protect their interests,” he said. Demanding a CBI probe into the results along with a judicial inquiry by a sitting High Court judge, Mr. Laxman found fault with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for reacting ‘late’ while 24 students had ended their lives by then.
“Maldministration and corruption has led to this sorry state of affairs,” he charged and wondered how TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao could feign ignorance about the software firm which handled the Inter results. He demanded free scanning, revaluation and recounting of all papers and said the government was resorting to strong arm tactics and the police to suppress protests.
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Party support
Education Minister Jagadishwar Reddy and Board of Intermediate Education secretary Ashok should be held responsible for the entire episode, he said and called for laying siege to ‘Pragati Bhavan’ and district collectorates on Tuesday and a State bandh on May 2.
National general secretary Ram Madhav said the party leadership was fully behind Mr. Laxman in his programme. Backward classes leader P. Krishnaiah, BJP leaders Bandaru Dattatreya, P. Muralidhar Rao, D.K. Aruna, Malla Reddy, Andhra Pradesh state unit president Kanna Lakshminarayana and others extended support.
Senior party leaders Bandaru Dattatreya, N. Ramachander Rao and others visited Mr. Laxman in NIMS.