Telangana: School buses not to be used for rallies

Hyderabad: School buses should not be used for political rallies, parents and the Telangana Recognised School Managements Association have stated. About 5,000 school buses were used recently for the TRS’ Pragathi Nivedana Sabha, the association alleged. As per the Motor Vehicles Act, schools buses should not be used for any purpose other than transporting students. Forcing managements to send their buses for rallies was against the law, it said. Insurers do not cover the vehicle if it is put to private use, or for commercial purposes.

The Haryana government had banned the use of school buses for political rallies last year. It ordered that political parties cannot commandeer the buses. “While the law is clear, it is unfortunate that political parties use school buses to transport people to their meeting. The nexus between school managements and political parties is clearly visible,” Mr K. Sainath Venkat, a parent said. Mr Ravilla Kishore, another parent, asked how officials were keeping mum when political parties were misusing school buses. “It is a lapse and shows the relationship between schools and political parties.”

Mr S. Sreenivas Reddy, president, Telangana Recognised School Managements Association (TRSMA), said, “The RTA books cases when school buses are used for other purposes. But the government is asking the RTA to arrange for school buses for political parties.” He alleged that schools were harassed if they did not provide the buses. A senior official on the condition of anonymity said, “What can be done the government orders the use of school buses? Cases are not booked during political meetings, but schools are booked if the buses are used for marriages or religious activities.”