Central, State governments playing with lives of students: TPCC Uttam Kumar Reddy

Hyderabad: The police on Friday foiled the Congress party's bid to take out rally and hold protest dharnas in front of Central government offices demanding postponement of JEE and NEET exams in view of coronavirus pandemic across the country.

The Congress leaders wanted to hold a dharna before the offices of the Central government following the instructions from AICC, which decided to hold demonstrations across the country on August 28, citing risk to students gearing up for JEE and NEET exams from coronavirus. However, the agitating leaders were prevented from coming out and taking out protest outside the party premises by the police, which was deployed a large number at the gates of Gandhi Bhavan.

Leading the Friday's agitation programme, TPCC president and MP, N Uttam Kumar Reddy was accompanied by other senior leaders including former PCC President Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Hyderabad City Congress president M Anjan Kumar Yadav, TPCC Vice-President Dr Mallu Ravi, General Secretaries Bollu Kishan and Adam Santosh, TPCC Minorities Dept Chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail, Nampally Incharge Feroz Khan and others later held demonstration within the Gandhi Bhavan premises.

Speaking on the occasion, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that India has recorded the world's highest spike of 77,266 Covid-19 positive cases in a single day on Friday. Similarly, Telangana has been getting nearly 3,000 cases every day since the last one week. In a situation where Covid-19 has spread to the community level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government at the Centre wants to put the lives of nearly 25 lakh students and their families at stake by conducting the JEE and NEET exams. Similarly, he said by silently accepting the decision taken by Modi government, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was risking the lives of nearly 1.20 lakh students who've registered for JEE and NEET, he alleged.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Central government should postpone the exams to a later date, as nothing was important than the lives of students. He said that the Congress party would continue its agitation until the government postpones the JEE and NEET exams to a later date.