Hyderabad, September 2026 : Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao on Wednesday wrote a letter in Italian to Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, seeking his intervention in the release of pending college fee reimbursements and urgent steps to address what he described as a deepening education crisis in Telangana.
Ramchander Rao said he chose to write the letter in Gandhi’s “mother tongue” because repeated protests, hunger strikes, arrests, lathi charges and appeals by students to the Chief Minister had failed to make their voices heard by Gandhi or the Congress government in Telangana.
In his letter, the BJP leader alleged that the state’s education sector was facing a serious crisis under the Congress government. He said students and educational institutions had repeatedly demanded the release of long-pending fee reimbursements, but the government had failed to respond adequately.
“Despite repeated appeals and protests demanding the release of long-pending college fee reimbursements, your government has remained unresponsive to the students’ plight,” Rao wrote, according to the letter.
He claimed that the future of nearly 40 lakh students, particularly those belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and economically weaker sections, was at stake because of outstanding fee reimbursements amounting to around Rs 15,000 crore.
According to Rao, the delay in releasing the funds has had a direct impact on students, with some educational institutions allegedly withholding certificates because of unpaid dues. He said this was preventing students from pursuing higher education and accessing employment opportunities.
The BJP leader also highlighted the impact of the pending reimbursements on educational institutions and their employees. He claimed that colleges were struggling to maintain regular operations, while many teachers and other staff members were receiving only partial salaries.
“The prolonged delay in payments has had serious repercussions on the quality of education, infrastructure, and even the institutions’ ability to meet their most basic obligations,” Rao said.
Rao further alleged that the state government responded with arrests and police action when the BJP extended support to students protesting over the issue. He recalled that when he decided to undertake a hunger strike, the government denied permission for the proposed venue, forcing him to hold the protest at the BJP state headquarters.
The Telangana BJP chief also raised a broader set of concerns regarding promises made by the Congress to young people in its Youth Declaration. He claimed that commitments relating to unemployment allowances, government jobs, recruitment schedules and Vidya Bharosa Cards remained unfulfilled despite the Congress government completing 1,000 days in office.
Rao alleged that he himself was arrested four times within 10 days for raising his voice in support of students.
“You brandish the Constitution and speak of defending democracy, yet a government led by your own party denies even the space for peaceful protests and attempts to silence the opposition. How can you reconcile your words with these actions?” he asked Gandhi.
The BJP leader urged Rahul Gandhi to intervene and exert pressure on Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to immediately clear all outstanding tuition fee reimbursements.
Rao also called for urgent corrective measures to revive the state’s education system and ensure that students, educational institutions, teachers and staff are not further affected by the delay in government payments.
The letter comes amid an escalating political contest in Telangana over education, student welfare, government recruitment and the implementation of Congress’s electoral commitments. The BJP has sought to position itself as a voice for students and educational institutions while holding the state government accountable for the pending reimbursements.
