Hyderabad University Students Clash With Police Over Alleged Land Grab, Accuse Govt Of Misleading Them

Tensions flared at Hyderabad University as students protested against the alleged takeover of land adjacent to their campus, accusing the state government of misleading them for corporate interests. The students argued that the land rightfully belongs to the university and cannot be seized under the pretext of being government property. They acknowledged that the university itself stands on state-owned land but maintained that it was originally allocated for educational purposes by the Congress government under former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which designated 2,300 acres for the institution.

In a video circulating online, a student accused the government of deceiving them, while a female protester claimed she was forcibly pushed into a vehicle and inappropriately handled by the police. The students asserted that the government was trying to create a false distinction between university land and state land to justify its actions.

Adding to the controversy, the students criticized the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), Congress' student wing, for allegedly siding with the government. They dismissed NSUI's involvement as a diversionary tactic meant to mask what they see as the state's corporate appeasement. Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy defended the move, stating that the land falls within the city's IT hub and is not connected to the university.

Reacting strongly to the police action, former state minister and BRS MLA Harish Rao Thanneeru condemned what he called "brutality" against the students. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he pointed out that the students were peacefully protesting against CM Revanth Reddy's remarks, where he allegedly referred to them as "cunning foxes." He highlighted that police resorted to a lathi charge, destroyed students' phones, and suppressed their voices.

Addressing Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Harish Rao questioned whether he would support the students as he did in 2016 or remain silent this time. "Students deserve justice. Dissent is not a crime," he stated, demanding accountability for the police action.