"Totally, Rs 15,000 crore has to be given to students": Telangana BJP chief on fee reimbursement dues

Rao said the Telangana government had responded to the BJPs ongoing agitation over the fee reimbursement issue and that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had questioned why the BJP was raising the issue now and had not done so during the previous BRS government.

Responding to the criticism, Rao said the BJP had raised the issue even when the BRS was in power and maintained that the party had been demanding payment of the pending dues during the previous government as well.

The government of Telangana yesterday responded to the BJPs ongoing agitation on the fee reimbursement issue. The Chief Minister has stated that the BJP is doing this agitation now, but earlier they did not do it during the BRS government, Rao said.

He said the BJP had demanded fee reimbursement during the BRS regime because more than Rs 5,000 crore had accumulated as dues during the last two years of that government.

According to Rao, the pending amount increased further after the Congress government came to power. He claimed that another Rs 10,000 crore is now due, taking the total outstanding amount to around Rs 15,000 crore.

We are reminding the Congress government and CM Revanth Reddy that even when the BRS government was there, the BJP demanded the fee reimbursement because, in the last two years of their rule, over Rs 5,000 crore was actually due. Now, after this government came, it is Rs 10,000 crore. Totally, it is Rs 15,000 crore which has to be given to students, he said.

Rao criticised the state government for responding to the BJPs agitation by blaming the party instead of addressing the issue of pending payments.

Instead of giving the assurance, you are trying to blame the BJP, he said.

The BJP state president demanded that the Congress government take immediate steps to clear the dues owed to students.

He warned that the BJP would intensify its agitation if the government failed to act on the issue.

We are demanding that this government immediately clear the dues of students; the BJP will intensify the agitation, Rao said.

Earlier on Thursday, Rao accused both the ruling Congress and the opposition BRS of disrupting the ongoing Monsoon session of the state Assembly, accusing the two parties of trying to prevent discussions on key public issues.

The Monsoon session of the Telangana Assembly is witnessing no business because both the main opposition party and the Congress ruling party are abusing each other, both outside the House and inside it--not allowing the House to discuss the important subjects, including fee reimbursement, Ramchander Rao said.

He alleged that both Congress and BRS were deliberately avoiding a discussion on fee reimbursement and wasting public money and the Assembly's time.

Both are trying to ensure they don't discuss anything in the House, the Telangana BJP chief said.

Rao further alleged that the BRS was apprehensive that a discussion on various issues would expose its 10-year rule, while the Congress was concerned that its alleged corruption would come under scrutiny.

The BRS is also afraid that if these things are discussed, their ten-year rule will be exposed. Congress is also afraid that its corruption will be exposed, he said. (ANI)