BRSV leaders arrested after protest against GO 7 near Secretariat

BRSV activists staged a protest near the Secretariat demanding withdrawal of GO No. 7 on fee reimbursement and release of pending dues. Police detained several protesters, while BRSV leaders alleged that the order would adversely affect students from marginalised communities pursuing higher education

Hyderabad: Tension prevailed near the Secretariat on Monday as activists of the BRSV staged a flash protest demanding the withdrawal of GO No. 7 on fee reimbursement and the immediate release of pending dues amounting to Rs 10,000 crore. Police detained several protesters on charges of unlawful assembly and shifted them to the Begum Bazaar and Afzal Gunj police stations.

During the protest, BRSV leaders raised slogans against the Congress government led by Revanth Reddy, alleging that the order threatens the future of nearly 14 lakh students from marginalised communities pursuing higher education.

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BRSV State vice president Thunga Balu accused the government of attempting to scrap the fee reimbursement scheme in a phased manner through GO 7. He called the government order a direct assault on access to higher education. He warned that the move could force poor students to discontinue their studies and urged the government to revoke the order.

Another BRSV State vice president, Padala Satish, demanded the scrapping of the GO and restoration of the earlier disbursement system, while reiterating the demand for the immediate release of arrears. He said the previous BRS government led by former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao enabled students from SC, ST, BC and Minority communities to access higher education, apart from setting up over 1,000 residential welfare schools under school education. However, he alleged that the Revanth Reddy government was reversing the progress made during the BRS regime.