KTR questions Rahul Gandhi’s silence over police action against students in Telangana

BRS working president KT Rama Rao criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for not speaking against police action on protesting students in Telangana, while voicing solidarity with Delhi students. He accused the Congress of double standards, saying Gandhi’s credibility would suffer unless he condemned the use of force against students in the state.

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao questioned Lok Sabha Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s silence over the police action against protesting students in Telangana. He said Rahul Gandhi was delivering passionate and heartwarming speeches in support of Delhi students, while students of Telangana were being lathi-charged, choked, dragged and kicked by the police.

“This India exists in a parallel universe where the rules of the Constitution are not applicable,” he said.

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In a statement, Rama Rao said while Rahul Gandhi was condemning police action against students in Delhi and expressing solidarity with them, the Congress government in Telangana was using police force against students, including lathi-charge and forcibly removing protesters.

“Are constitutional rights meant only for students in Delhi and not for those in Telangana? Will you stage a dharna at Revanth Reddy’s Jubilee Hills palace too? Or are our Telangana students dispensable because the lathis here have the stamp of your Congress party?” he asked, accusing the Congress leadership of following double standards on student issues.

The BRS working president said the use of force against students should be condemned irrespective of whether the incident occurred in Delhi or Telangana. He asked whether Rahul Gandhi would stand above party politics on the issue of students’ rights or provide political protection to the Congress government in Telangana. 

He said Rahul Gandhi’s protest in Delhi would have credibility only if he showed the same concern for students facing police action in Telangana. 

“Condemn the police action and ask the Chief Minister to take action against those responsible. Otherwise, people would view your support for students as hypocritical,” he added.