The BJP in Telangana has announced a state-wide bandh on May 2, seeking justice for the victims of the intermediary exams. As many as 20 students committed suicide in just a week under the belief that they had failed the intermediary exams.
Telangana: BJP has announced a state-wide bandh on May 2 seeking justice for the intermediate students, who committed suicide due to the alleged lapses by the Telangana State Board of Intermediate Examination (TSBIE).
Over 20 students in Telangana took their lives after they failed to clear the exams. Students had alleged discrepancies in the intermediate results.
A group of BJP leaders, including former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya, was detained while staging a sit-in at the Tank Bund Ambedkar statue. The BJP has also announced a candle-light protest on Wednesday.
BJP state president K Laxman had launched an indefinite hunger strike on Monday against the government. He demanded the removal of TSBIE Secretary A Ashok.
However, due to the fact that his health deteriorated, he was admitted to the NIMS hospital by the police. Continuing his protest from the hospital, he said, "My protest will not stop as long as the Intermediate students get justice."
While being admitted, his message to the students was that they must not give into pressure. “We are there for you. We won't stop the protest until the government comes down,” he stated.
Laxman also demanded that the parents of the students that committed suicide must be given ex-gratia. A three-member committee has been constituted to probe the allegations that there were discrepancies in evaluation of the exams.
Education minister Jagadish Reddy had earlier claimed that he will take action after the probe report came out. Even after finding discrepancies, no action has been taken against any erring officer.
Meanwhile, the Congress leaders have asked the education minister to step down for failing in his duties, which led to many student suicides.
Reports suggest that as many as 20 students took their lives just in the span of one week because results suggested that they had failed the intermediate examinations.
Of those who took their lives in the past week, three were aged between 18-19 years. Hindustan Times reported that another student has been missing since Wednesday. He failed in the intermediate first-year exams and left his house on the day the results came out. A missing complaint has been lodged with the police.
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