Hyderabad:
Students at Osmania University were lathi-charged by police on the second day of a bandh called by those who want a separate state of Telangana. Security had been increased at Osmania University as a precaution during the bandh.
The Andhra Pradesh home minister has said Deputy Commissioner of Police Stephen Ravindra, under whose jurisdiction the University falls, will be transferred out.
Students asked the police at the university to leave their campus today. That request erupted into violence. Osmania University has been closed till the 18th of December after students set several trucks on fire last Monday. Those scenes brought back memories of the late 60s and early 70s when Osmania University was the epicentre of a violent agitation for a separate Telangana state. About 1,000 lawyers and students have gathered outside Arts College at the University.
The second day of the Telangana bandh also saw 90,000 coal mine workers at Singerani Colleries in Karimnagar District boycotting work. All trains to Delhi were also stopped between Kazipet and Balharshah stations by thousands of people sitting on the tracks. There were also reports of protestors pelting stones at the Kerala Express at the Uppala railway station in Karimnagar district.
Twenty five Congress MLAs and 15 MLCs are in a huddle discussing the Telangana developments.
The Telangana movement is being led by K Chandrasekhara Rao, the chief of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). Last week, Rao began a hunger fast and was then arrested; furious TRS workers then attacked public property. KCR was moved to a Hyderabad hospital last week so that he can be closely monitored. The government anticipates a violent reaction to any news that suggests Rao's health is deteriorating.
On Sunday night, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah called on KCR and appealed him to end his fast. But Rao rejected that request. He says he wants the Prime Minister to assure him that his demand for a separate state will be met.
A delegation of Congress ministers from Telangana region will visit Delhi on Monday.