Hyderabad: Continuing their agitation the students of the University of Hyderabad, where Dalit scholar Rohit committed suicide after his expulsion, demanded the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao, Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya and action against ABVP leader Susheel Kumar. AICC vice president Rahul is expected to interact with the students agitating for the justice. He arrived in Hyderabad and heading towards HCU.
Students, who formed a Joint Action Committee with all organizations, raised slogans denouncing the VC and carried placards with messages such as ‘Appa Rao murdabad’, ‘Rohit Vemula amar rahe’ and ‘Sushil Kumar hai hai’.
They students took out a rally in the campus on Tuesday and demanded a compensation of Rs. 50 lakhs for Vemula’s family. They alleged that union HRD minister Iran also interfered in the matters of University by writing a letter to the VC asking him to take action against the Dalit students. They said Dattatreya also put pressure on the Vice Chancellor by writing agaist the students and calling them as anti-nationals. According to students, Vice Chancellor Apparao influenced the executive committee to take a decision against the students at behest of the union minister.
“We demand justice for Rohit Vemula. Action should be taken against those responsible for his suicide,” said another student.
Hyderabad police had on Monday registered a case against Dattatreya and three others under the Scheduled Casts and Scheduled Tribes Act in connection with the suicide of Rohit Vemula, a research scholar of Hyderabad Central University.
Irani yesterday flatly refused any intervention by the government in the Dalit scholar’s suicide and said that a two-member team has been sent to the varsity from the ministry to take stock of the situation.
She asserted that she will not make any ‘political’ statement at the moment, since law and order was a subject of the state.
Meanwhile Telangana state BJP president G Kishan Reddy said there was no connection between the Dattatreya’s letter and suspension of the students including Rohit. When the Dattatreya’s letter has become bone of contention, Kishan Reddy chose to defend Dattatreya. He said it was wrong to say that Dattatreya’s letter was responsible for the suspension of student. ” He wrote the letter much later that the suspension of the students,” he said.
“Suspension was a purely university affair, which is an autonomous institution,” Kishan said and argued against the demand of sacking of Dattatreya from the cabinet.
