As protests by the students of Hyderabad Central University (HCU) continued and some women students alleged sexual harassment and physical excesses by the police, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday announced a probe into the matter and maintained he will take up the issue of Vice Chancellor Appa Rao’s removal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Stating that the HCU is a Central institution and does not fall under the purview of the State Government, the CM rejected the Opposition’s demand for passing a resolution in Telangana Assembly urging the Centre to recall the Vice-Chancellor.
However, the Chief Minister promised to take appropriate action against the police if any atrocities were found to be committed by them. He also announced that a senior official will conduct a probe into the incidents that occurred on the campus on March 22.
The announcement of probe came after the Opposition members gave graphic details of police brutalities, male policemen dragging the women students by hair and threatening them with rape during Tuesday’s protest on the campus demanding removal of Vice-Chancellor.
All the Opposition parties -- barring the BJP -- urged the TRS Government to intervene in the HCU imbroglio and urge the Central Government to recall the controversial VC, who was facing flak from the students and faculty over the suicide by a Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula.
The House witnessed heated exchanges and noisy protest forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House twice as the main Opposition Congress pressed its adjournment motion notice on the happenings in HCU as well as the Osmania University. As soon as the House met members of Congress and MIM rushed to the well of the House demanding that their adjournment motion notice should be accepted.
The Chief Minister objected to the manner in which the Opposition was trying to stall the House. He said that the issue can be taken up as part of the demands of Home Minister.
However, the Government later agreed for a discussion on the issue under another rule. In his opening statement State Home Minister N Narasimha Reddy tried to defend the police saying the officials had tried for six hours to persuade the protesting students to vacate the office of the Vice Chancellor. Only when the situation went out of control they resorted to use of force and arrested the protesters.
However when the members of Congress, MIM, CPI and CPI(M) went on an offensive against the police and the Government that the Chief Minister said that the Government will inquire into the “excessive use of force” by the police.
KCR termed the incidents in HCU and the Osmania University as unfortunate and painful.
In Osmania University, he said, the death of a labourer in a sump of water was wrongly projected as that of a student. He said that the police exercised caution despite stone pelting by the students. He condemned the alleged attack on Congress MlA Sampath Kumar’s car on the campus.
In a hard hitting speech, MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi demanded immediate arrest of the Vice Chancellor Appa Rao as a case was booked against him under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act in connection with the suicide of Rohith Vemula. “Even the High Court has also refused to grant him any relief,” he said.
He also demanded that the House should pass a resolution demanding that the Centre should recall the Vice-Chancellor as his return to the university was the cause of the fresh outbreak of trouble. He wanted immediate release of the students and teachers from jail and further arrests to be stopped.
Sampath Kumar of the Congress said that the issue of Rohith Vemula’s suicide was being discussed throughout the country but the State Government had failed to curb the attempts to suppress the Dalit students in HCU as it was kowtowing to the BJP Government at the Centre.
Sunnam Rajaiah of the CPI(M) demanded immediate arrest of Appa Rao while Ravindar Kumar of CPI wanted an atrocities case booked against him in connection with Tuesday’s incident.
NVS Prabhakar (BJP) pointed out that in his suicide note Rohith Vemula himself had said that nobody was responsible for his extreme step. “some leaders from Delhi tried to further increase the tension in the HCU”, he alleged.
Earlier in the morning activists of People’s Democratic Students Union held a protest demonstration outside the HCU gates as the police and the security staff did not allow any outsiders into the campus. The PDSU members demanded immediate removal of the Vice Chancellor and his arrest in connection with Rohith Vemula’s suicide.