Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s visit to Osmania University in Hyderabad on Monday marked a landmark occasion, with him becoming the first CM of the state to address students at the prestigious institution.
The student leadership at the university has had a strained relationship with former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, even though he was the first CM after the formation of Telangana, following a movement in which the university played a crucial role.
In 2009, when the agitation for separate statehood for Telangana was at its peak, Osmania University in Hyderabad was a citadel of the movement, with hundreds of students participating. However, when the state was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 and KCR was elected chief minister, Osmania University students did not allow him to enter the campus. Tussles over education and employment policy meant that KCR never delivered a speech at Osmania University during his 10-year term.
In this context, Revanth Reddy on Monday sought to strike all the right notes during his speech at the institution.
He remembered the young martyrs of the Telangana agitation, some of whom had died by suicide on campus. He also remembered the older generation of student leaders — George Reddy, for instance, who was killed on campus, allegedly by right-wing groups.
Revanth Reddy reiterated that he is a farmer’s son, and a son of Telangana’s soil. He pointed out that the vice chancellor of Osmania University, Kumar Molugaram, who he appointed, comes from a Dalit community.
He recalled that Osmania University students had inspired the armed peasant uprising of 1938. “S Jaipal Reddy, Shivraj Patil and P V Narasimha Rao, who made the country popular in the world, were students of the university,” he said.
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‘Next time, no police’
He also said he did not need police protection on campus. “The next time I am on campus, not a single policeman will be here. The next time I am here, I will not be holding a meeting in a closed auditorium. I will be meeting you all at the historic Osmania University Arts College,” Revanth Reddy said, to cheers from the more than 1,000-strong crowd gathered at the Tagore Auditorium in the campus.
Reddy also spoke of the state government’s commitment to develop Osmania University. “The university will be developed on par with the world’s top ones — Stanford and Oxford universities,” the CM said.
He talked of funds at length — “What you ask me for the development of Osmania University, I will grant, because Osmania University is synonymous with Telangana.” He also said he would announce new fund allotment for the university. “We need more teachers, doctors, state and central civil service officers from Osmania University,” he said.
Even if student wings of Opposition political parties stage protests against his visit to the university, he will not stop coming, he said, adding, “I am also ready to answer those who are preventing me from visiting the university.”
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He said the university suffered from “neglect” when the Bharat Rashtra Samithi was in power. The CM said that his Cabinet colleagues and he would be “available to students all the time and are ready to address their grievances”.
