Applicants of TSPSC at a protest demanding the postponement of the exam in August. (Image: PTI/File)
The death by suicide of the 23-year-old woman has led to a flash protest with her friends saying she was depressed because the state public service exam was repeatedly being cancelled or rescheduled
The death by suicide of a student, who was preparing for the state public service exam, has turned into a political slugfest in Telangana. The body of 23-year-old Pravallika was found late on Friday (October 13) at her hostel room in Hyderabad’s Ashoknagar.
The death has led to a flash protest with her friends saying Pravallika had gone into depression because the examination for the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) was repeatedly being cancelled or rescheduled. The Group-1 exam was cancelled twice after a paper leak while the Group-2 test was recently rescheduled due to the assembly elections.
According to police, a note purportedly written by the student asks her parents to forgive her. The reason for her death is not mentioned.
Police said Pravallika was upset that her boyfriend had chosen another woman and, hence, took the extreme step. But, opposition parties are saying the state government is trying to divert the issue.
Dr K Laxman, national president of the BJP OBC Morcha, reached the spot at night and blamed the BRS government for the student’s death as it had failed to conduct the exams. Congress leader Kota Neelima, too, joined the protest and said the BRS government had failed students who came from different parts of Telangana to study in Hyderabad.
The issue snowballed the next day when state Congress president Revanth Reddy and BRS MLC K Kavitha engaged in a war of words on X, formerly Twitter. Commenting on a post that Kavitha wrote, Revanth said: “Kavitha, you are making colourful videos about Bathukamma celebrations; can’t you hear the cry of the soul of Pravallika who committed suicide because of the irregularities in TSPSC exam? In your eyes, women’s rights are just political agendas.”
Replying to him, Kavitha accused the state party chief of denigrating Bathukamma festival. “If a girl child commits suicide, is it your policy to turn it into a political issue? It is sad that Pravallika committed suicide. No parent should face this situation. It is the Congress that is playing with the lives of the unemployed. Isn’t it a fact that your party made all-out efforts to block the issuance of any exam notification in Telangana?”
Senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile, called Pravallika’s death a “murder” of the dreams of Telangana youth and promised to fill two lakh government job vacancies in one year.
Bhuvanagari Congress MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said Pravallika’s family should get justice and an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore should be announced for her family. “It’s a shame that the youth are dying for jobs in Telangana,” the MP said.
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