Mr Rao, who undertook his fast at the Khammam jail on Sunday, was shifted to the Government General Hospital where he ended the fast by accepting a glass of orange juice given by a doctor in the presence of photographers.
But students who had attacked policemen and public and private property for two days to support Mr Rao, did not take kindly to this sudden decision.
Students on the university campuses at Hyderabad, Warangal and Nizamabad protested the decision. They performed “shava yatras,” carrying effigies of Mr Rao in a mock funeral procession before setting it on fire.
Faced with the ire of the party cadre and students, Mr Rao later alleged that the police had “drugged” and “cheated” him in the hospital and forced him to break the fast. He alleged that the Greyhounds police personnel had, without permission, forcibly shifted him to the hospital. However, Mr Rao said, “I am determined to continue the struggle for a separate state.”
All through the day, TRS activists and students had gone on the rampage in Telangana districts, attacking passersby, damaging property, setting fire to vehicles and threatening suicide as part of the bandh called by the party to protest the arrest of Mr Rao. The bandh was total and disrupted normal life.
However, when students of Osmania University who had been engaged in pitched battles with the police learnt that Mr Rao had called off his fast, they changed tack and trained their guns at him.
“We have been deceived again,” said a student. “If Chenna Reddy had betrayed the students in 1969, KCR has repeated it 40 years later.” Angered at his decision, students took out a “KCR shava yatra” alleging that he betrayed theTelanaga people by claiming that he would continue the agitation till death.
“We were caned and locked in police stations, only to be betrayed by KCR,” said Jai Prakash, a student of Arts College. Baladeer Gaddar also criticised Mr Rao by saying that he had made it a habit to create drama to sustain his politics. “He is responsible for provoking the students and has to apologise,” he added.
In Nizamabad, students of Telangana University (TU) at Dichpally burnt the effigy of the TRS president. In Warangal too, his effigy was burned. Earlier, Mr Rao was shifted to the Government General Hospital from the Khammam sub-jail after his health condition appeared to deteriorate.
“He was on fast for the past 24 hours and didn’t take food in the jail,” said the Khammam jail superintendent, Mr B. Saidaiah. “He is a chronic diabetic patient.”
After ending his fast, Mr Rao said he was hurt by the suicide attempts of the students and called upon them to adopt new strategy to achieve the goals. “The agitation was launched not to commit suicide but to get separate statehood for 3.5 crore Telangana people,” he said. Specialist doctors who arrived from Hyderabad conducted medical tests and administered intravenous fluids to Mr Rao.
Throughout the day, areas surrounding Osmania University in the city saw much violence with students taking to the streets armed with sticks and clubs attacking vehicles, shops and even innocent passers-by.
Activists belonging to various students unions attacked the quarters of Dr M.D. Christopher, secretary of the AP State Council for Higher Education, and damaged his car and house. At 13 places in Telangana, TRS activists climbed cellphone towers threatening to jump to death if Mr Rao was not released. Train services were disrupted in North Telangana.
The DGP, Mr R.R. Girish Kumar, said 84 RTC buses were damaged and six set afire in the past two days. Around 3,767 TRS activists were arrested as preventive measure, he added.
Police, who aggressively caned agitating students on Sunday, remained mute spectators on Monday as bandh supporters indulged in violence. There was panic after a gunny bag containing bomb like objects was found near NIN.
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