BJP Leaders Detained at Secretariat Over Rs 11,000 Crore Fee Reimbursement Dues

Protests demanding the release of long-pending fee reimbursement dues broke out across Hyderabad on Thursday, with Bharatiya Janata Party leaders attempting to besiege the State Secretariat and student activists holding a demonstration at Dharna Chowk. Police detained key opposition leaders following scuffles near the government complex.

Tension mounted outside the Secretariat when BJP State President N Ramchander Rao, along with party leaders and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha activists, marched toward the entrance gates. The leaders intended to submit a formal representation signed by more than eight lakh students demanding the immediate clearance of Rs 11,000 crore in accumulated fee reimbursement dues.

A scuffle broke out between police personnel and the demonstrators as protesters tried to push past security barricades erected to block entry into the Secretariat grounds. Security personnel intervened to disperse the crowd and brought the commotion under control.

Following the confrontation, police took BJP State President N Ramchander Rao and Bharatiya Janata Legislature Party leader Aleti Maheshwar Reddy into custody. Both leaders were subsequently shifted to the Chikkadpally Police Station.

Simultaneously, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad organised a demonstration termed 'Fee Deeksha' at Dharna Chowk to highlight the crisis facing students. Addressing the gathering, ABVP national secretary Balakrishna alleged that the education sector in Telangana has plunged into a crisis under Congress rule, pointing out that the non-release of scholarships over the past four to five years has resulted in the closure of educational institutions and an increase in higher education dropout rates.

ABVP state secretary Macherla Rambabu accused the state government of conspiring to scrap the fee reimbursement scheme altogether. He stated that approximately 20 lakh students across Telangana rely on these government funds to pursue their education, noting that unpaid arrears have climbed to Rs 11,000 crore because the state government failed to disburse reimbursements in a timely manner.