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The Andhra Pradesh government has given nod for Osmania University students to go ahead with the Sunday's "Vidhyarthi Garjana" rally albeit with conditions.
Justice Nagarjuna Reddy, acting on the Joint Action Committee of Osmania University Students' petition, directed the Hyderabad city police commissioner to grant permission for the rally on the university campus. But he said only students should attend the rally, and it should be held between 4 pm and 6 pm. The court also specifically ordered that political leaders should stay away from it and no outsiders should speak on the occasion.
The JAC, which called the rally to press the demand for Telangana formation, believes that up to five lakh students will participate in the meeting. But with the court imposing restrictions, only four to five thousand students will be able to attend the meet, some students say.
The high court order came just when tension reached the boiling point on the campus as hundreds of policemen and personnel of Rapid Action Force and CRPF were deployed in and around the campus to stop the people from gathering.
Additional director general of police, law and order Abdul Khayyum Khan made it clear that the permission for rally would not be granted as the gathering of a large number of people can create serious law-and-order problems.
Chief Minister K Rosaiah also expressed his helplessness, saying political interference would not be good in a sensitive matter which was being dealt with by police in a professional manner.