State Bandh today ( from Deccan Chronicle)
Ramana Juvvadi (ramana@localhost.localdomain)
Thu, 6 Mar 1997 02:58:19 -0500
State Bandh today
Heavy bandobast for the ABVP protest against killing of a leader by
Naxalites
Security arrangements have been strengthened by the police in the
twin cities and other parts of the State in view of the bandh call given
by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Thursday, in protest
against the killing of an ABVP leader, Mr Chandra Reddy, on the
Osmania University campus by radicals on Tuesday.
Additional police forces have been deployed at sensitive places in the
twin cities and elsewhere in the State. Special pickets have also been
set up at various places, particularly on the Osmania University
campus where the murder took place.
Meanwhile, more than 100 people have been taken into custody in
the city as a precautionary measure. According to a senior police
official, the impact of the bandh was expected more on the university
campus.Though no official holiday has been declared for schools,
several private school managements have decided to close down the
schools in view of the bandh call and non-availability of transport. An
APSRTC official, said the corporation would regulate its services
depending upon the situation. If conditions permit, services on all
routes, including long distance services, would be run as per
schedule.
RSU owns up killing
The city unit of the outlawed Radical Students? Union, claimed
responsibility for the killing of ABVP leader, Chandra Reddy. The city
unit president of the RSU, K Narasimha, in a statement, said that the
ABVP leaders were ?applying pressure tactics? in connivance with
the government to suppress the revolutionary movement.
He also said that the ABVP leaders were harassing Dalit students and
sympathisers of left organisations. He warned other leaders of the
ABVP like Pradeep, Manohar Reddy, Haragopal, Paparao,
Venkateswarlu, Jagan, Ugender and Amarender would meet the
same fate, if they did not change their attitude.
Opposition condemns killing
The Opposition members condemned the killing of the Akhil
Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad leader, Mr M Chandra Reddy, by the
Naxalites of the People?s War Group in Osmania University campus
on Tuesday.
The Opposition members alleged that the failure of law and order
situation in the State was mainly responsible for the murder in the
campus, in which a journalist was also hurt. They said the police, the
CB-CID and the Intelligence wings had miserably failed to prevent
such murders in the State.
Making a statement in the Assembly after Question Hour, the Home
Minister, Mr A Madhava Reddy, said the police had started
investigation into the incident and launched a manhunt to nab the
culprits. Those, who have no faith in democracy, have been killing the
political leaders and others, the minister said and asserted that the
government would deal with such anti-social elements sternly.
Mr Madhava Reddy said the government would provide employment
to one of the family members of Mr Chandra Reddy in addition to the
payment of Rs 1 lakh as ex-gratia. The BJP floor leader, Mr Ch
Vidyasagar Rao, demanded an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.
Supporting the view of Mr Vidyasagar Rao for an all-party meeting,
the Congress member, Mr Gade Venkat Reddy, opined that the
gruesome murder clearly showed the poor law and order situation in
the State. When the Congress Government had imposed ban on the
PWG, the TDP Government had lifted and again banned PWG, he
regretted. Mr K Subba Raju (CPI) condemned the incident and asked
the government to take action. The CPM floor leader, Mr Bodepudi
Venkateswara Rao, also reiterated that it was the result of failure of
law and order in the State. Ms Lakshmi Parvathi (NTR-TDP) also
said the law and order situation had worsened in the State. The
government should own the moral responsibility for the murder, she
added. Mr Madhava Reddy also agreed that the policy on extremists
has been changing with the change in the government.
Fear rules Osmania campus
The killing of M Chandra Reddy, a research scholar and ABVP
activist, on Tuesday by members of the outlawed Radical Students?
Union, has sent shock waves among the student community and the
academics.The murder baffled everyone because firstly there was no
provocation for the radicals to do what they did and secondly because
ideology-based violence on the campus had been on the wane during
the last seven years.
Even after 24 hours of the murder the police seem to be groping for
clues. The genesis of violent student politics could be traced to the
murder of the PDSU leader, George Reddy by Jan Sangh activists in
1972. Clashes between the students of different ideologies have been
continuing since then, and in 1987 Krishnavardhan Reddy, an ABVP
leader, was murdered by radicals. Arun Kumar, a technology student,
was killed by ABVP activists in 1994, Chandra Reddy was also an
accused, but the murder is not considered a part of the ideological
war as the victim, a Dalit was not linked to any student organisation.
The influence of the RSU has been subdued following the ban on
PWG and its affiliated organisations. This has led to the burgeoning
influence of the ABVP. Its only "rival" has been the Progressive
Democratic Students Union whose influence is limited. The Chandra
Reddy killing created such a scare among the students that almost all
of them vacated their hostels. The entire campus wore a deserted
look.
But what is intriguing is the silence of the administration over the
issue. The girls too vacated their rooms in the absence of any
assurance from the administration on their safety. A few students
who did not join the exodus are also planning to move out of the
campus at the earliest. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof V Ramakistayya,
has not been available to either the press or the students and thus
incurring the students? ire, the other officials too are chary. The
campus was closed on Wednesday though there was no official
declaration. The heavy police force near the hostels has further
heightened the tension what with the policemen bringing in all the
paraphernalia with them giving an indication of a long stay. Not a
single official was available for comment. The Registrar, Prof M
Bhagwantha Rao, too has cut himself off from the students. The
student community is fearing that this incident would be used as an
excuse by the administration to close down the hostels. The
maintenance of the hostels had become a major financial burden on
the university. An indication to close down hostels had been given by
the administration several times in the recent past.