Hyderabad: The exams to the Andhra Pradesh public service commission for 198 posts of deputy collectors and commercial tax officers began on Sunday under heavy security.
However, protests from students in Telangana region who had threatened to boycott the exams and even try to stop them continued.
At the exam centre in Hyderabad's Osmania University, students boycotted the exam and burnt the question paper. The protesting students as well as political leaders who came to support them were taken into preventive custody.
The Public service commission examination to fill less than 200 posts has become a war of nerves for the Andhra Pradesh government.
Protests marred the Osmania University campus on Saturday as students demanded the scrapping of the Andhra Pradesh public service commission exam on Sunday, unless 42 per cent of the posts were reserved for Telangana students.
The exams will see 1.9 lakh candidates compete to fill just 198 posts of deputy collectors, commercial tax officers and DSPs.
'First you decide what is the percentage of Telangana people. After that you continue with exams. Without deciding our percentage, we will boycott the exams,'' said Rakesh a student of The Osmania University.
However, despite efforts by the pro-Telangana students to storm the state Secretariat, the government has decided to go ahead with the exams, by providing security at all 445 exam centres.
"There will be no compromise on how much share each region will get. But the Srikrishna committee will go into it and give its report in December,'' said B Satyanarayana, State Cabinet Minister from coastal Andhra Pradesh.
The fluctuations at the Osmania University again are only proving the fact that the regional divide in Andhra Pradesh is very much existent. With politicians taking sides based on regional preferences, the polarisation is set to continue.
"The CM has to think if he is running the government with the support of police or with the support of the Congressmen. Already ten students are threatening to commit suicide,'' said Madhu Goud, Nizamabad MP.
Only last week, invigilators belonging to Andhra and Rayalaseema regions were attacked by students at Osmania University who accused them of bias against students from Telangana.
Amid protests and consecutive attacks by Pro and Anti Telangana supporters, the Government finds itself in a predicament.