The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry and the Hyderabad University administration have come under sharp attack from the students and the academic community from across the country following the suicide by the Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula early this week.
The issue has also taken a political colour as several prominent political leaders including the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who have visited the campus and strongly condemned the treatment of the Dalit students.
After meeting the four suspended students who are on an indefinite hunger strike since Wednesday, Kejriwal addressed the gathering of protesting students.
“We strongly condemn the caste angle given to Rohith Vemula’s death by HRD Minister Smriti Irani. Yesterday, Irani’s statements were shameful, she was lying. It is shameful that a Union Minister used like extremists, casteist and anti national in his letter”, he said.
Referring to the allegations that ASA members had attacked a ABVP leader N Susheel Kumar, Kejriwal said that it was fabricated allegation. “Susheel Kumar had undergone operation for appendicitis but they projected as an attack by the ASA members”, said the Delhi CM.
Stressing that ASA was formed on the principles of Dr Ambedkar he questioned how it could be called anti-national. Kejriwal also said that Union labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya’s letter alleging that ASA was indulging in anti national activities complicated the matters. He said that it was very painful that students were committing suicide in the Hyderabad University. “But Smiriti Irani was trying to sidestep the main issue”, he said.
CPI national secretary S Sudhakar Reddy, lJP leader Chirag Paswan, MP D Raja, former MP Aziz Pasha and lok Satta founder president Jayprakash Narayan also visited the campus and expressed solidarity with the students. Earlier CPIM General Secretary Sitaram Yechuri and Trinamool Congress MP Dere O Brien also visited the campus on Wednesday and said that they will raise the issue in the Parliament.
Ramdas Athavale of Republican Party of India and Jupudi Prabhakar of Telugu Desam party also visited the campus yesterday but the protesting students did not allow them to address the gathering saying they should first dissociate themselves from the NDA.