Politicians occupy centre stage

As expelled students and their peers at the University of Hyderabad continued with their protest seeking justice for research scholar Rohith Vemula, a steady stream of politicians hogged the limelight at the makeshift Dalit Ghetto in the campus.

CPM general-secretary Sitaram Yechury interacted with suspended research scholars Donta Prasanth, Chakravarthi, Pedapudi Vijay Kumar and Chemudugunta Seshaiah, who have already spent 16 days sleeping out in the open.

 “I demand the prime minister to sack ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya and order criminal proceedings, considering the death of Rohith as a murder,” said Yechury.

He further said that the vice-chancellor has no right to continue as nowhere in the country Dalit students were socially boycotted and their scholarship money was withheld for months driving them to severe depression.

YSRC chief and Opposition leader in Andhra Pradesh (AP) Assembly Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, who visited Rohith’s family at their residence in Uppal on Tuesday night, wondered how three members of the faculty, Prof Srivastava, Prof Mohanty and vice-chancellor Prof Apparao, who have a dubious track record of torturing the research scholars to suicide, were handpicked to be part of the campus committee appointed to look into the conduct of the suspended research scholars.

Reddy, too, visited the campus on Wednesday “The vice-chancellor who was supposed to have played a father’s role has acted in a very irresponsible way and he must immediately go,” said Jagan.

He demanded that the suspension on the four remaining research scholars must be revoked and they must be allowed to enter the hostel. Jagan also expressed dismay over the controversy raked up on Rohith’s caste certificate and said that the student was meritorious, making such allegations pointless.

While AAP leader Asish Ketan held the globetrotting Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for the communal divide in the Indian educational institutions, Derek O’ Brien of the Trinamool Congress has termed the Digital India initiative as Divisive India.