Backing the students’ stir at Hyderabad University, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today mounted pressure on the Centre as he demanded sacking of Union ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya over the suicide by a dalit scholar which he called a “national shame”.
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Attacking labour minister Dattatreya, Kejriwal said that it was shameful that a minister had used words such as extremist, casteist and anti-national in his letter to the HRD minister “without finding out the actual facts”.
“Our second demand is that Smriti Irani tried to play dirty caste politics (on Wednesday)”. We demand she seek an apology from the entire country for that.
“Earlier in the day at a press conference, he stepped up the attack on the HRD Minister demanding that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his ministerial colleagues should apologise to the nation and dalits for her “misconduct of misleading the nation” “…Irani is lying through her teeth in a bid to protect the ABVP leader.
“An FIR is registered”.
“The council after taking into account the extraordinary situation prevailing in the university, and after discussing the issue in detail, resolved to terminate the punishment imposed on the students concerned with immediate effect”, a statement by the institution said.
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Rohit, who was expelled from hostel as part of disciplinary measures along with four other students of ASA a couple of weeks ago, had allegedly committed suicide in the campus hostel on Sunday. She told the VC that she would meet him only on the campus along with four other students who were suspended.
They also claim that the professor was originally named as an accused in the police complaint filed by the ABVP student.
Tearing into the arguments put forth by the HRD Minister, Surjwala said she spoke a “blatant lie” that the decision of the Proctorial Board declaring the five Dalit students not guilty was an “ex-parte decision”.
He said that the university’s SC/ST Professor forum has stated that the statement of the Minister was “false and fabricated”.
“Regrettably, had this decision been taken prior to January 17, Rohith Vemula would have been alive today”, the party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.
Mr Vemula’s death and the months that preceded it have brought national scrutiny to the university, where many lower caste students allege continued caste discrimination and the use of political influence to harass them.
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Maintaining that the whole country is with the students in their fight, he offered a “small advise” to the Prime Minister not to get into an issue with the students.
