Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said if Prime Minister Narendra Modi getting “emotional” while expressing grief over the suicide by Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad Central University is for real, then he should remove the Vice Chancellor. “Now, our main demand is sacking of Smriti Irani (HRD minister), Bandaru Dattatreya (labour minster) and P Appa Rao (vice-chancellor), and compensation for Rohith’s family”. “We humbly want to say that shedding crocodile tears will not return Rohith Vemula or do justice to the situation arising out of the suicide of the dalit scholar in Hyderabad University”, party’s chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala told reporters.
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The Hyderabad Central University (HCU) had on Friday announced an ex-gratia of Rs eight lakh to the family of Rohith Vemula. Addressing the convocation at the BR Ambedkar University, Mr Modi said: “India has lost a son and I can imagine what his family must be going through”.
Mounting a blistering attack on the the Centre on the issue, Kejriwal demanded an apology from Irani and wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to drop her as well as Dattatreya from the ministry. “Dalit forums of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana should fight the political conspiracy to eliminate the Dalit voice”, Ilaiah said. The two students, who were donning a blue stole, meant for master’s degree scholars, were evicted by the police and detained. The teary-eyed Modi said Mother India lost her son and he empathise with the mother who lost her son.
The decision comes close on the heels of the resignation of ten Dalit faculty members protesting against the “misleading” remarks of union HRD minister Smriti Irani in Delhi yesterday.
Rohith’s mother would come to the university and talk to the agitating students, he said. “I and my organisation (ABVP) only wanted that some punishment be awarded to the five research scholars who had been trying for an upper hand in the university with their muscle power”.
The HCU had in September a year ago suspended the five students, including Rohith, for six months (entire semester) for allegedly assaulting ABVP leader Susheel Kumar in August. “The state government has not taken the FIR seriously and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has not even bothered to condole Vemula’s death”.
“This was very much a Dalit issue …this was amply evident from Rohith Vemula’s letter to the vice-chancellor in which he spoke of providing poison to scheduled caste students”, said a Lok Janshakti Party leader.
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Rohith’s body was found hanging at one of the hostel rooms on the University of Hyderabad campus on Sunday.
