BRS stages protest to demand release of fee reimbursement funds

Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislators staged a protest near Telangana Assembly building on Monday, demanding the immediate release of fee reimbursement funds.

Before the commencement of the day’s proceedings in the Legislative Assembly and Council, BRS MLAs and MLCs gathered at Telangana Martyrs’ Memorial, Gun Park.

Displaying placards, the legislators of the main Opposition party demanded that the government immediately release funds for pending fee reimbursement.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Madhusudhana Chary, told media persons that the Telangana government is allegedly playing with the lives of students just as it is playing the lives of all sections of society.

He alleged that many students are forced to drop out as the government has not released fee reimbursement funds on time.

“We demand the immediate release of ₹12,000 crore in pending fee reimbursement arrears,” he said.

Madhusudhana Chary alleged that the government lacks sincerity regarding the welfare of students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes.

He claimed that K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) continued the highly prioritised fee reimbursement scheme originally introduced by Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. “While KCR paved a golden path for students, this government is pushing education out of the reach of poor students. We demand that the fee reimbursement funds be released immediately and in a timely manner,” he said.

The BRS legislators marched to the Assembly building with placards. The security staff stopped them and asked them to leave the placards outside.

When the legislators insisted that they be allowed to carry the placards inside, the marshals snatched placards from them.

BRS gave notices for adjournment motions in both the Houses for a discussion on fee reimbursement. However, presiding officers rejected the notices.

Meanwhile, police have stepped up security around the Assembly building in view of the call given by Opposition BJP for laying siege to the building over various issues.

The BJP has called for the protest over what it calls the government’s failure to implement six guarantees, displacement faced by many families due to Musi Riverfront development project and other issues.