Student bodies call 48-hour Telangana shutdown

Telangana and Osmania University students JACs want the state government to delete clause 14(F) from Presidential Order which allows the government to treat Hyderabad as a 'free zone’ to which recruitment can be made from all regions. Its deletion is a major demand of Telangana supporters who say it has denied people from the region a fair share of jobs in the state capital.

The test for recruitment of police sub-inspectors is being held Aug 13-14. JACs, which are spearheading the movement for separate Telangana state, had earlier called day-long shutdown on Aug 5 and later  postponed it to Aug 8.

The leaders who met at Osmania University Saturday again changed their  mind and decided to have two-day shutdown on Aug 13 and 14, when the government is scheduled to conduct written test for recruitment of SIs.

They threatened to disrupt the test if held without deleting 14(F) from Presidential Order, 1975, which treats Hyderabad as a free zone for police recruitment. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and other groups fighting for separate  state have been staging protests, demanding the central government to immediately delete clause 14(F) so that Hyderabad is brought under Zone VI to ensure that only people from Hyderabad and five other Telangana districts are eligible for police recruitment.

Andhra Pradesh assembly last year passed a resolution, urging the central government to delete the controversial clause. However, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram Monday said the state assembly should unanimously pass another resolution in this regard. The chief minister same day rejected this suggestion saying passing a fresh resolution is impossible in the prevailing emotionally charged atmosphere.

The student bodies also decided to boycott classes from Aug 17 in support of the indefinite strike by the government employees in Telangana, demanding separate state.
They chalked out a series of programmes to mobilize support for the indefinite strike. Meetings will be held in the colleges from Aug 8 to 16.

The JACs also called for blockade of highways on Aug 16 to demand withdrawal of paramilitary forces from Telangana.