Rs 15,000 Cr Fee Dues Put 40 Lakh Students at Risk, Ramachander Rao Writes to Rahul Gandhi

Telangana BJP president N. Ramachander Rao has urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to intervene in the issue of pending fee reimbursement dues for students in the state. He made the appeal in an open letter written to Rahul Gandhi in Italian, his mother tongue. Ramachander Rao said the concerns of students protesting over the issue were not reaching the Congress leadership.

Sharing the letter on X, Rao said students had resorted to hunger strikes and protests, while some had faced lathi charges and arrests. He said students had also written directly to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, but their concerns had still not received the required response. Rao said he chose to write to Rahul Gandhi in Italian to make sure the issue reached him directly.

Rao claimed that around Rs 15,000 crore in fee reimbursement dues remained pending in Telangana, affecting nearly 40 lakh students. He said a significant number of those affected belonged to SC, ST, BC and economically weaker sections. According to him, delayed payments have created financial difficulties for educational institutions, with some colleges allegedly withholding students’ original certificates.

He said the situation was affecting students’ ability to pursue higher education and seek employment. Rao also alleged that several colleges were struggling to meet operational expenses because of the outstanding dues and that some staff members were receiving only partial salaries.

The BJP leader further accused the Congress government of attempting to suppress student protests through police cases, preventive arrests and lathi charges. He said he himself was arrested four times within 10 days after raising the issue and alleged that permission for his proposed hunger strike was denied, forcing him to hold it at the BJP state office.

Rao also criticised the Congress government over what he described as unfulfilled election promises, including unemployment assistance, government job recruitment and Vidya Bharosa Cards. He pointed to separate protests by polytechnic and AYUSH students over college mergers and long-pending stipend revisions.

He urged Rahul Gandhi to question the Telangana government’s accountability and press Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to release the pending reimbursement funds.

Meanwhile, Revanth Reddy had said on August 14 that students applying online would receive reimbursement directly in their bank accounts within a month under a new system intended to prevent colleges from withholding certificates.