State BJP chief, BJYM activists detained during dues march to secretariat

A BJP worker was stopped by the police at the Hyderabad Secretariat on Thursday during a protest demanding permission to enter and submit a representation to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy regarding outstanding student fee payments. | Photo credit: PTI

Telangana BJP President N. Ramchander Rao and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) activists were detained by the police on Thursday when they tried to march to the Secretariat and “meet” Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.

Mr. Rao and several party workers were arrested amid heavy police deployment and brief skirmishes as they raised slogans against the state government, demanding the immediate release of outstanding dues payments said to be around ₹15,000 crore.

According to BJP leaders, the protest was aimed at presenting a statement to the chief minister, signed by more than eight thousand students, demanding settlement of the long pending fee refund arrears. Mr. Rao said he sought a meeting with the Chief Minister to hand over the memorandum but was not granted.

ABVP students protested against the fee refund issue in Hyderabad on Thursday. | Photo credit: G RAMAKRISHNA

The BJP state president was shifted to Chikkadpally police station while other activists were taken to other police stations and later released. Condemning the detention, Mr. Rao accused the ruling Congress of displaying an “arrogant attitude” and promoting “anti-student politics”. He alleged that the government could not suppress the voices of nearly 40 million students who were affected by the delay in payment of fees. “The BJP will continue its agitation till the outstanding dues are cleared,” he said.

BJP legislature party president A. Maheshwar Reddy, party general secretary Goutham Rao and other leaders who were also detained criticized the government for allegedly ignoring the students’ grievances. They described the police action as a reflection of the government’s “dictatorial attitude”.

Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar also condemned the detention and questioned the government’s decision to resort to what he called “illegal arrests”. He demanded the immediate release of all the detainees and urged the state government to clear the outstanding dues without further delay.

Published – 03 Sep 2026 20:45 IST