Hyderabad, (IANS): A rally of unemployed youth and students here on Monday demanded the Telangana government to immediately fill the vacancies even as two students ended their lives since Sunday reportedly after failing to get jobs.
Speakers at the “Koluvula Kotlaata” (Fight for jobs) rally, organised by Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC), appealed to students and unemployed youth not to resort to suicide but unite for a struggle to force the government to honour its promise.
TJAC chairman M. Kodandaram alleged that police tried to foil the meet by arresting several leaders and workers coming to Hyderabad from different parts of the state, though the court had give permission for the meet.
While one student of Osmania University hanged himself in the hostel, another unemployed youth killed himself in Nirmal district on Sunday.
E. Murali, 21, a first-year student of MSc Physics at Osmania University here ended his life in bathroom on Sunday. The incident, the first after formation of Telangana state, triggered protest by students.
According to police, a suicide note was found in the pocket of Murali in which he stated that he was taking the extreme step due to depression and the fear of failing in exams. However, student groups alleged that the letter was forged and claimed that he was depressed due to government not releasing the job notification.
Tension prevailed on the campus as students refused to hand over the body to police, demanding the government to first announces a job and Rs 50 lakh compensation for Murali’s family. Police broke open the doors of a hostel room in the early hours of Monday to forcibly shift the body for autopsy and later to his native place.
However, the campus remained tense through the day as students staged protest and boycotted the classes.
When the TJAC meeting was on, report came in from Nirmal district that an unemployed youth committed suicide. B. Ramesh, who had done MSc, was reportedly depressed on not getting a job.
At the meeting, TJAC presented before people family members of four youth who committed suicide recently.
Kodandaram, who had played a key role in the movement for separate Telangana state, alleged that the government had failed to fulfill the promise to provide jobs and this had led to frustration among youth.
He demanded that the government take steps on war-footing to fill 3 lakh vacancies. He said instead of addressing the issue, ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was branding them politically unemployed. “This is not Telangana which we had fought and the martyrs laid down their lives for,” he said.
Revolutionary balladeer Gaddar urged students to come together and become a political force.
Eminent academician Chukka Ramaiah found fault with the government for creating hurdles for organizations fighting for the rights of students and unemployed.
Telugu Desam Party’s state president L. Ramna called for a united struggle to pressurize the government to fulfill its promises.