Naidu held while demanding reimbursement of fee for students

The Telugu Nadu Students Federation, the student wing of TDP, organised the protest against the dilution of the fee reimbursement scheme.

The TDP chief, who took part in the programme, slammed the Congress government for diluting the scheme and depriving students belonging to backward classes of higher professional education.

"This government lacks sincerity...It doesn't want BC students to pursue higher professional education," the Leader of Opposition alleged.

Chandrababu and the TNSF workers were taken into custody and led to Vanasthalipuram police station. They were later set free.

Notably, the Kiran Kumar Reddy government had decided to restrict the fee reimbursement to only those students who secured less than 10,000 rank in the Engineering Common Entrance Test after it lost a case in High Court over fixing a uniform fee structure in engineering colleges. The government did not get any immediate relief even in Supreme Court.

Fearing a backlash, the government clarified that the problem related to only 85 colleges and all students in the rest 602 private engineering colleges would be reimbursed the fee in full (Rs 35,000) under the convenor quota.

The opposition parties have, however, been demanding that the government reimburse the fee in toto without any restrictions.

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy announced that the government would take a final call based on the outcome of the case, pending disposal in Supreme Court.