BJP Leader N Ramchander Rao Placed Under House Arrest at Tarnaka Residence

Telangana BJP leader N Ramchander Rao was placed under house arrest at his residence in Tarnaka on Thursday morning after police stopped him from visiting students protesting against GO 97 at the Ramanthapur Government Polytechnic college.

Police personnel arrived at Rao's residence early in the day and restricted his movement, preventing him from leaving for the Ramanthapur campus. Rao said he was informed about a large police contingent being deployed at the polytechnic college as well. He agreed to remain inside his residence to prevent any direct confrontation between the police forces and the protesting students gathered at the institution.

Condemning the house arrest, Rao accused the Congress government of being afraid of the student agitation against GO 97 and alleged that the administration was actively trying to stop him from meeting the students to hear their grievances.

According to Rao, polytechnic students had earlier visited his hunger strike camp at the BJP state office, where they extended an invitation asking him to come to the Ramanthapur college to discuss the issues they were facing.

Students have been actively protesting against GO 97, which aims to create greater convergence between polytechnic education, skill development initiatives, and the industry ecosystem. The students have expressed deep apprehension over potential changes to diploma courses as well as the Engineering Common Entrance Test (ECET).

Rao alleged that the state government is weakening the education system and claimed that the implementation of GO 97 could adversely impact polytechnic education. He further alleged that if government polytechnic institutions are weakened, valuable land owned by these colleges could eventually come under pressure from real estate interests.