TS opposes quota for AP students in NIT

• Kadiyam alleges Naidu conspiring to mar TS students’ chances
• If Centre wishes to help AP, it can create supernumerary seats at NIT, Warangal

New Delhi: Yet another dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States landed in the Centre's court here on Tuesday. This time it relates to admissions at NIT, Warangal. Reacting to the demand by Andhra Pradesh that the students from the State be allowed to accommodate in the 50 per cent quota of seats reserved for the local students from Telangana State, Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana Kadiyam Srihari has urged the Centre not to bend the rules under pressure from the AP government.

Srihari, who called the Secretary of the HRD here on Tuesday, made it clear that post-bifurcation, the Andhra Pradesh students were not entitled to any quota in the NIT as was the case with the students from Telangana State in respect of other NITs. Neither the rules governing the NIT nor its admission notices provided for quota to the Andhra Pradesh students, he pointed out.

The AP Reorganisation Act, too, had no provision for such a quota, he said. The NIT is a Central governed institute and does not fall under the purview of the Article 371 (D). Alleging that that the AP government was bent upon continuing its exploitation of Telangana people, Kadiyam insisted that the Centre should not oblige it, because the Telugu Desam Party was an ally of the BJP.

However, Kadiyam averred that the Centre could create supernumerary seats if it so wished to help the AP students, but should not allow any practices that mar the chances of the Telangana students. He defended the proposal of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to build houses for the poor on the lands lying unused on the university campuses, and asked those opposed to it to clarify their stand on doing social justice.