‘Gandhigiri' in full flow at Osmania varsity

 OU students offering flowers to a police official on Monday demanding the withdrawal of security forces from the campus. — HYDERABAD: After witnessing pitched battles between pro-Telangana students and the police for the last three days, Osmania University campus presented a different picture on Monday, when the agitators, in a display of ‘Gandhigiri', offered flowers to policemen.
Proffering red roses, the students took out a rally from Arts College to the police station, albeit raising slogans demanding withdrawal of police forces from the campus. The surprised policemen, all in full riot-gear, appeared puzzled initially, but did not lose an opportunity to take a dig at the students.
Poser to students
“How can you offer flowers to us? You abuse us and hurl stones at us. We don't want your sympathy,” a police officer told them in all mock seriousness while refusing to accept the flowers. The boisterous agitators pleaded with them to accept flowers saying they were not against any policeman individually. They were only agitating for separate Telangana.
Some of the students too sought to put the record straight. “You lob teargas shells and stun grenades. You fire rubber bullets at us. But then we are fighting for a separate State. Not against anyone of you”, the banter continued for sometime. In the end, the hard stand of the policemen did not last for long and with broad smiles, the officers accepted the flowers. “You are giving us flowers now and let's see whether you hurl stones at us in the night”, was the parting shot of a police officer.
A few minutes later the situation was back to normal – rallies being taken out with agitators raising full-throated slogans, but no one indulging in stone throwing. A group of ABVP students took out a procession from ‘B' hostel to Arts College and burnt the effigy of the government. Another group held aloft posters containing the names and photographs of MPs and MLAs from the Congress and TDP alleging that they were ‘missing.' “Anyone informing the whereabouts of MLAs and MPs would be rewarded,” the posters mocked.
Tomatoes hurled
Yet another group hurled tomatoes and eggs at a poster of Sonia Gandhi and later took out a procession from Arts College to NCC Gate, where they were prevented from moving ahead. The agitators squatted on the main road denouncing the “repressive measures” of the police. They were later taken into preventive custody.