No official decision regarding Rahul Gandhi's visit: OU PRO
Sangareddy MLA T. Jayaprakash Reddy had asked permission from the university for Rahul Gandhi’s meeting at OU. He said the VC position carries respect among people and Prof. Ravinder should not dilute it by succumbing to the pressures of TRS MLAs.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 30 April 2022 5:41 PM IST
Hyderabad: The Osmania University has reiterated its decision that no political rally will be allowed on the campus. C Srinivasulu, the PRO of the university, said this decision was taken around a year ago. However, he said that no official decision regarding Rahul Gandhi's visit to the university has been announced by the Vice-Chancellor.
Sangareddy MLA T. Jayaprakash Reddy had asked permission from the university for Rahul Gandhi's meeting at OU. Earlier, he had said that the V-C not giving permission is nothing but blackmailing him and interfering in university activities. He said the VC position carries respect among people and Prof. Ravinder should not dilute it by succumbing to the pressures of TRS MLAs.
Mr. Reddy had also lashed out at TRS MLA Balka Suman saying that he is immature and inexperienced compared to him in politics and it's better if he stops his tirade against the Gandhi family or else the OU students themselves will teach him a lesson. He had alleged that there were rumours of Mr. Suman, who was a student leader during the Telangana agitation, forcing gullible students to commit suicide to fuel the agitation. "If that is true, we will inquire into his role in those suicides once the Congress comes to power," he said.
K. Manavatha Roy, a research scholar at OU and chairman of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Unemployed Students, alleged that OU is an autonomous university but still the government was interfering in its decision making.
On 29 April, Manavatha Roy and some other students filed a lunch motion petition at the High Court seeking permission for Rahul Gandhi to meet the students of OU. However, it was rejected as it was the last working day before the summer vacation. "On 2 May, a house motion petition will be heard at the High Court. We are waiting for the court's decision," said Manavatha Roy.
If given permission, Rahul Gandhi would be the second MP in recent times to visit the campus after Bangalore MP Tejasvi Surya who visited OU in November 2020 during the GHMC elections campaigning.
