Hyderabad: A group of burqa-clad students from a women’s college here was allegedly taken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s padayatra on Monday, November 2, on the pretext of a protest over scholarships, prompting the college principal to apologise to parents.
The students of Shantiniketan Women’s College in Erragadda were brought to the starting point of the march near Nizam College after members of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), told the college that a demonstration was being held to demand pending scholarships, the principal said.
A video doing the rounds on social media purportedly shows BJYM members organising the rally and asking the students to join in.
In an audio message to parents, principal Amba Ramaswamy said she had been misled.
“The BJYM told me that the rally was organised to demand scholarships. They did not inform me that it was Amit Shah’s rally. I apologise for this,” she said.
Teachers brought students back
Ramaswamy said the teachers accompanying the group came to know it was Shah’s rally only after they reached Nizam College.
“One of the teachers told me the students were asked to join the rally and raise slogans. However, the students were not interested in doing so,” she said.
On hearing this, she told the teachers to bring the students back to the college immediately.
The principal admitted she had erred in not checking the BJYM’s claim with the authorities at Nizam College. She said she would make sure the outfit’s members were sent away if they approached the college again.
Local BJP leader approached college: Vice-principal
The college’s vice-principal, Jyotirmai, told The News Minute that the principal had been approached by Bharat Goud, identified by the portal as the BJP’s Secunderabad district president.
According to her, Goud described the event as a protest against the state government over scholarships pending for five years. Since part of the dues had been released after an earlier protest he held outside the college, the principal agreed to send students who were willing to go, and parents were informed, she said.
The vice-principal also told the portal that the students were asked to chant ‘Jai Sri Ram’ at the venue, which left them uneasy, after which the faculty took them back.
The portal put the number of students from the college at the march at 83. Some of the students later said they were scared by the size of the crowd, Telangana Today reported.
Management denies incident
However, a member of the college management, speaking to Siasat.com, claimed the video circulating online was doctored.
“No such incident has happened at our college. We don’t allow students to take part in political rallies,” said the woman, who did not identify herself.
Other colleges at the march
Shah led the “Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao” (Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy) padayatra from the Babu Jagjivan Ram statue near Nizam College in Basheerbagh to Moazzam Jahi Market in Abids, where he addressed the gathering.
Party leaders said the march was meant to counter the Congress’ campaign against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. It came a day after the Congress held a rally in Delhi on the issue.
According to The News Minute, students from at least three other institutions, including NCC cadets and nursing students, were also part of the march, and some of them said they had been brought by their college managements.
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