Protests by students and parties across the political spectrum against clearing a forested area near Hyderabad University has put the ruling Congress in a spot.

Although the central varsity has clarified that the shrub jungle that is home to the Mushroom Rock is not its property, agitators have cited the Congress’s position against deforestation to step up their protest.

The varsity students’ union has announced an indefinite protest and boycott of classes from Tuesday, demanding the removal of police personnel and earth-moving machinery from the campus. The police had forcibly detained students who tried to stall the land-clearing work on Sunday and Monday.

BJP parliamentarian K. Laxman told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that although the varsity was set up across 2,300 acres in 1974, no demarcation had been carried out till now.

“This land put to auction includes ecologically sensitive areas like Mushroom Rock and other biodiversity-rich zones near the university’s east campus. The government sent bulldozers and police forces on a festival day and ravaged the forest, lake and habitats. The Congress government claims sustainable development. How can destroying green land in Hyderabad be sustainable?”

Laxman demanded that the auction of the land be stopped immediately.

Vice-chancellor B.J. Rao told The Telegraph in an email: “The state government is taking over 400 acres of land from IMG-Bharata following high court and Supreme Court verdicts in 2024. Therefore, the 400 acres of land legally belongs to the state government. Originally that land was a parcel in the total land allocated to the University of Hyderabad in 1974, but was NEVER registered to the University.”

Rao said he had requested the Telangana government to hand over the land to the university.

Actor Prakash Raj and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee have spoken out against the deforestation.

Besides the BJP and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), the CPM protested in Hyderabad and its members were among those detained.

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s silence on the issue. “Rahul Gandhi spoke out against the destruction of the Aarey forest in Mumbai and the Hasdeo forest in Chhattisgarh. He has visited HCU (Hyderabad University) twice in the past. Yet today, when his own party’s government is brutalising students and wrecking the environment, he remains silent,” Rao told reporters in Hyderabad.

He said the varsity and its surrounding areas were among the “last green lungs in this part of the city”.

“Destroying them without an environmental impact assessment is a crime against Hyderabad’s future. Are we heading towards a Delhi-like situation where breathing becomes a luxury?” he added.

Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy told reporters on Tuesday: “In March 2024, we got an order from the court that this land can be taken by the state government. Since the land was vacant for 18-19 years and nobody was taking care of the land, trees grew there. Now, these political parties, including the BRS and the BJP, are trying to project it as forest land.”