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Hyderabad police forcefully detained members of various Left student groups – Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Students’ Federation (AISF), and Progressive Democratic Students’ Union (PDSU) – who staged a protest near Lok Bhavan in Hyderabad on Tuesday, July 21. The activists were demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and backing the student movement currently underway at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
The protesters, who began their march from Khairatabad towards Lok Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor of Telangana, were stopped by the Hyderabad police before reaching the state Secretariat. Several protestors were allegedly manhandled by the police and shifted to Asifnagar police station.
Addressing the media, representatives of the student organisations said the protest was part of a nationwide campaign highlighting concerns over the implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, alleged examination irregularities, and paper leaks. They also expressed solidarity with students who were assaulted during the July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and reiterated their demand for Pradhan's resignation.
Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy took to X to express solidarity with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was leading a protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence in Delhi against the police action on students.
The Hyderabad protest comes a day after students and youth organisations gathered at Jantar Mantar on a call given by the Cockroach Janta Party, demanding Pradhan's resignation over alleged irregularities in national entrance examinations. Protesters later attempted to march towards Parliament, but were stopped by Delhi Police, leading to clashes and allegations of excessive force after videos of police dragging and assaulting demonstrators circulated widely on social media.
Many cities across India are witnessing protests in solidarity with the protests in Delhi, including Bengaluru and Kochi. In Hyderabad, similar protests and gatherings were also held at the Somajiguda press club and People’s Plaza on July 21.
This story was written by a student interning with TNM.
