Beef Controversy spilled out of the campus of Osmania university. At a time when University authorities and Police decided to disallow any non-academic program take place on the campus, Vishwa Hindu Parishad transformed thins into a religious matter. Telangana State unit of Viswa Hindu Parishad, while condemning the beef festival, announced that it would organize Gow puja (cow puja) in all temples across Telangana and AP on December 10 protesting the proposed move by communist students to sacrilege the campus with beef festival. Stating that the neglect of cows had lead to economic inequality in the society, the VHP leaders said they would distribute about a lakh pamphlets in the city educating the people of the benefits that accrue from protection of cow, on the day when the OU students propose to organize the beef festival.“We condemn the beef festival,” M Ramarju, VHP Telangana state president, said. ” It is organized by communists and rationalists to put the majority community to embarrassment,” he said. While killing a cow might fetch one Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 , protecting a cow would give benefits worth Rs 40 lakh,” he said.
On the other side, Hyderabad police have kept a close watch on the movement of the students of Osmania University in order to avoid any untoward incident on the campus in view of some student’s determination to go on with their respective festivals-Beef Festival and Pork Festival. This is for the first time that the police entered into the beef controversy. “In order to maintain peace and tranquility on the campus, in view of the proposed beef festival , it is decided not to permit any celebration by students/ organizations/groups in the next 8 days,,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Zone) A Ravinder said. The DCP sought the co-operation of students to ensure peace and added that all possible steps would be taken to preserve the academic harmony on the campus.
While Leftist student organizations have declared that they would celebrate World Human Rights Day on December 10, with a ‘beef festival’, a rival group planned a ‘Pork Festival’ in on the same day, setting the stage for a showdown. Meanwhile, BJP Goshamahal MLA Rajasingh said he was planning ‘Chalo University’ march on December 10 protesting the beef festival and perform ‘gow (cow) puja’ on the campus.
