Intermediate Exam Results Fiasco : BJP bandh call evokes poor response in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The bandh call given by the BJP to protest against the goof-up in the Intermediate examination results has evoked poor response in the city.

The indefinite fast by BJP State unit president K Laxman entered the fourth day.

He is continuing the fast in NIMS after he has been shifted to hospital soon after he launched hunger strike.

Normal life was not affected, and buses and other vehicles plied as usual.

BJP leaders and workers held protests at various places as part of the bandh.

State BJP chief Laxman, who was shifted by police to a State-run hospital hours after launching an indefinite fast on April 29, continued his fast in hospital for the fourth day.

BJP activists gathered outside bus stations of Telangana Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) and other places and raised slogans against the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi.

However, the bandh had no impact on the services. BJP affiliated students wing ABVP and youth wing BJYM leaders participated in the protests.

BJP MP Bandaru Dattatreya, party general secretary Muralidhar Rao and other leaders staged a sit-in outside the State Secretariat, and they were removed from the place by police, Dattatreya said in a release.

Police took several protesters into preventive custody across the State, the official added.

Congress leader and former MP V Hanumantha Rao and other leaders called on Laxman at the hospital on Thursday.

The demands of the BJP include sacking Education Minister G Jagadeesh Reddy, suspension of Board of Intermediate Education Secretary, judicial inquiry into the episode and paying compensation to families of students who allegedly committed suicide, upset with the result.

About 9.74 lakh students had appeared for the Intermediate exam in March this year and 3.28 lakh of them have failed, according to official sources.

The BJP claimed that 25 students committed suicide since the declaration of results on April 18.

The alleged bungling in the announcement of results led to widespread protests by students, their parents, student organisations and political parties.

Some students and their parents claimed that they secured poor marks despite being merit students.

A three-member committee, appointed by the State government to look into the issue, has pointed out certain shortcomings in conducting the exam and suggested remedial measures.