Battle for Jobs rally blames KCR

Hyderabad: In a fresh offensive against Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) on Monday slammed KCR holding him responsible for the suicide by the unemployed youths.

“Students are ending their lives because the chief minister had gone back on his promise of providing employment to them while seeking their mandate in the 2014 elections,” TJAC chairman M Kodandaram said at a well-attended protest “Koluvalkai Kotlata” (Battle for Jobs) at Saroornagar here.

The other TJAC leaders, speaking at the protest, permission for which was obtained after the intervention of the High Court, said it appeared as though the new Telanagana state was meant for the family of KCR and not for the people.

Thousands of the youth and students attended the programme at Saroornagar grounds here despite police arresting several of them.

Prof M Kodandaram, tearing into KCR’ administration, asked why the Chief Minister had let down the students who overwhelmingly supported him in the election and was showing more interest in benefiting contractors.

The public meeting began in the backdrop of the suicide by two students on Sunday one in Osmania University and the other in Nirmal district, as they were frustrated because they could not get any job.

The speakers repeatedly called on the unemployed youth not to take extreme decisions of ending life but joining hands in the effort to force the government to issue notification for filling vacancies.

Prof Kodandaram said that it was painful to agitate against a political class which the people had supported in the hope that it would transform lives after formation of the state. “Please do not end your lives as committing suicide is not the solution to the problem. Answer lies in questioning the government,” he said.

The TJAC chairman wondered what other issues are more urgent than solving unemployment for a government. Though the TJAC had asked him to confront the government when it appeared that the government was forgetting its promise, Kodandaram said that he took time since he felt that a new government needs to be given some time to solve the issue. But even after over three years, the government does not get around to it which had forced the TJAC to take up the stir, he said.

"The youth are not asking for your chair. They only want jobs. This was the reason they fought for Telangana and achieved it," said Kodandaram.

The JAC chairman said that he was given to understand that there were two lakh vacancies in the government. But the government was coming out with figures that were not reflecting the actual situation. He demanded that the government should come out with a recruitment calendar.

He was unhappy with the way the state crated hurdles for organising the programme. “The Chief Minister wanted to derail our preparations by creating one obstacle or the other. We, in fact, have been trying to get permission for the protest since February. The police had even arrested me. Only with the intervention of the court, we could organise this protest,” he said.

He said that the attendance of the students would have been more had if there were no arrests by the police. He said that around 2,000 active JAC workers, including leaders were arrested overnight by the police even though the JAC had permission to hold the meeting. The JAC has decided to approach the court for contempt of court against the police for the arrests.

He lashed out at the government that it will give permission to the event like Sunburn Festival where liquor flows but not to the students who want to raise their issues.

Prof K Nageshwar of Osmania University insisted that the government should announce recruitment calendar so that the students would know when and for which posts they should prepare. He recalled putting forth a proposal to the government that he would organise coaching classes for the aspiring students, but the government did not pay any attention.

Prof G Haragopal said that the youth meeting should be an eye-opener for the government. "The democracy is not just winning elections. There is freedom for all sections in democracy to raise their issues," he said.

Those who spoke included T Jeevan Reddy (Congress), BJP city president N Ramchander Rao and TDP president L Ramana and Educationist Chukka Ramaiah.