Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday pitched for a legislation assuring freedom of expression for students and sought stringent action against those responsible for the death of University of Hyderabad (UoH) research scholar Rohith Vemula.

Rahul arrived at the Begumpet airport in a special flight at around 12:30 pm and left for the university campus at Gachibowli where he addressed a student gathering.

He was invited by the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice, an umbrella organisation of all students’ unions, barring the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat (ABVP).

Rahul spent almost an hour with the four expelled Dalit students at the makeshift Veli Vada (Dalit Ghetto) and enquired about the reasons for their rustication from the campus and Rohith’s death.

After offering floral tributes at “Rohith Smaraka Stupa” erected by the students, he consoled Rohith’s mother and younger brother. Addressing an emotionally charged gathering, Rahul said the idea of a university is that young people can come and express themselves irrespective of their socio-economic status, colour and caste without the fear of punishment and pain.