Kadapa, February 17: Former Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy on Wednesday announced his decision to stage a week-long hunger strike in Hyderabad from February 18 in order to exert pressure on the government to release adequate funds for fee reimbursement and bail out students who were in a quandary as examinations were round the corner.
Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy, who earlier planned a day-long protest at Hyderabad on February 18, remarked that the government might not respond to a token protest. He hoped his week-long protest would make the Central and State governments act in a sane manner.
Addressing a meeting organised by former Municipal chairman and Telugu Desam leader Rachamallu Prasada Reddy in Proddatur, he said the Kiran Kumar Reddy government remained adamant on fund release for fee reimbursement despite being pulled up by the Supreme Court.
Recalling that former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy introduced fee reimbursement scheme to provide students of the poorer sections access to professional education, Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy accused subsequent governments of neglecting the scheme and causing mental anguish to lakhs of students on their future. Suicide by a bright student Varalakshmi, unable to pay fees of Rs. 30,000, failed to move the government, he said. Scores of such students were on tenterhooks with the government’s apathy, he alleged.
Referring to the large number of women participants, the former MP said the ‘pavala vaddi’ scheme aimed at economically empowering women was not being implemented and no budgetary allocation was made for the scheme in 2010-11. Mr. Prasada Reddy expressed his support to Jagan.
Jammalamadugu MLA C. Adinarayana Reddy, former DCC president K. Suresh Babu and other leaders participated.
Earlier Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy called on Madina Engineering College chairman Syed Mustafa Hussain Bukhari, on the death of his son and also consoled the family members of a former Municipal councillor S. Md. Sharif, who passed away recently.
Former Kadapa Mayor P. Ravindranatha Reddy, retired government official Shamsuddin and some former Municipal councillors accompanied him. Jagan attended marriages in Kadapa, Vempalle and Pulivendula on Wednesday.
–Agencies