Telangana CM Reddy Revanth Reddy announces Rs 1,000-crore allocation for Osmania University development

NEW DELHI: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday announced an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for development works at Osmania University, pledging to upgrade the century-old institution to international standards. Reddy unveiled a copy of the government order sanctioning the funds during a visit to the campus, which played a central role in the Telangana statehood movement.

Addressing students and faculty, he said the government would seek inputs from students, academics and intellectuals of Telangana to shape the university’s transformation. Telangana has a history of resisting injustice and authoritarianism, he said, adding that OU had produced several prominent personalities, including former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, former Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy, folk singer Gaddar and student leader George Reddy, who inspired social struggles. He said the university was at the forefront of the final phase of the Telangana agitation.

Indirectly responding to BRS leaders’ criticism of his administrative experience, Reddy said he did not study in Guntur in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh "like some", in a veiled reference to BRS working president K T Rama Rao. He said he grew up in a village, witnessing poverty firsthand, and was committed to working for the welfare of the underprivileged.

Stepping up his attack on the previous BRS government, Reddy said it had built a bungalow on 10 acres, a grand Secretariat, and executed the Kaleshwaram project at Rs 1 lakh crore. In contrast, he said, his government had taken four major steps that resonated with Telangana’s identity in the past two years.

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These included declaring ‘Jaya Jaya He Telangana’ as the state song, unveiling the portrait of Telangana Thalli representing Bahujans, classifying SC communities, and initiating a caste survey for the benefit of Backward Classes. Reddy said the government no longer had land to distribute as part of poverty-alleviation schemes and stressed that education alone could change the lives of the poor.

A government survey showed that families owning up to 20 acres of land were still "backward" due to lack of education, he said. "Such people are not poor, but they are backward. Poverty is different, and backwardness is different," he added. The chief minister said the government was setting up Young India Integrated Residential Schools in about 100 of the state’s 119 Assembly constituencies, where 2,500-3,000 students from various communities would study together to break caste barriers and promote social harmony.

He also alleged that the previous BRS government had "ruined" Osmania University and urged students not to fall into the "trap of political parties." He accused BRS leaders of building lavish farmhouses while failing to deliver on the promise of allocating three acres of land to each Dalit family.