Hyderabad, Nov 7 : With the private professional colleges in Telangana continuing their indefinite strike to demand release of pending dues under the fee reimbursement scheme, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said on Friday that the government will not tolerate their blackmail.

While making it clear that the government will clear the dues in a phased manner, he asked the managements of these colleges not to play with the lives of students.

"We will release funds in phases. We will not tolerate students being inconvenienced for this. They are talking as if new problems have arisen after Revanth Reddy came, and this problem did not exist before," the Chief Minister said at a press conference.

The Chief Minister also stated that the colleges were collecting huge fees in violation of all rules and demanding fee reimbursement from the government. "Are you blackmailing the government? What talks can the government have with those who have shut down colleges? I know how much donations the colleges are taking," he said.

CM Revanth Reddy reminded colleges that education is a service and not a business. He also stated that there are many irregularities in granting permissions to colleges. "You are not so ignorant as to not know which political parties you are siding with," he remarked.

Over 2,000 colleges across the state continued their strike for the fifth day on Friday, demanding that the government release funds towards the pending dues.

According to the Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Institutions (FATHI), the fee reimbursement dues amount to Rs 10,000 crore. It is demanding that the government immediately release Rs 5,000 crore and the remaining Rs 5,000 crore in monthly instalments of Rs 500 crore over 10 months.

The Chief Minister made it clear that the government will pay the dues in phases. He said initially, the dues pertaining to the present government would be cleared.

He pointed out that the state's monthly revenues are Rs 18,000 crore. "After paying salaries, interests on loans and meeting other expenditure, only Rs 5,000 crore remains. Tell me how you will run the state with this revenue," he asked.

/IANS