Osmania University students meet Srikrishna panel members

A group of students from the Osmania University here, who had been in the forefront of the recent pro-Telangana agitation, met the members of the Srikrishna Committee on Tuesday.

The students, part of the OU Joint Action Committee (JAC), put forward their demand for statehood to Telangana before the members of the Centre-appointed panel.

“We will be happy if separate statehood is achieved through Srikrishna Committee. Of course, we will continue our democratic and peaceful fight till the goal is achieved,” Manavata Roy, a students’ leader, told reporters after meeting with the panel.

The father of a youth who committed suicide for separate Telangana accompanied the team of students. “The panel members asked us why my son Srikantachary committed suicide. I told them he wanted to give a push to the Telangana agitation by sacrificing his life,” Venkatachary said.

A group fighting for united Andhra Pradesh also met the committee members who are on a three-day visit to the city since Monday.

Telangana Gazetted Officers Association, who claim that they are being discriminated against in promotions, too met the members of the committee.

The five-member panel, headed by Justice B.N. Srikrishna, was formed in February after months of agitation for a separate Telangana state.