Rohith suicide not Dalit vs non-Dalit issue, says Smriti

Breaking her silence over the controversy surrounding the suicide of research scholar Rohith Vemula of the University of Hyderabad, HRD Minister Smriti Irani said on Wednesday that the issue has been projected as a Dalit versus non-Dalit confrontation with malicious intent.

The minister also conveyed her condolences to Rohith’s family, saying she would not indulge in political mudslinging at this sombre moment. Smriti’s statement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation at a meeting on Wednesday.
“This is not a caste battle. This is not a Dalit versus non-Dalit issue as being projected by some to ignite passions. A malicious attempt is being made to show it as a caste battle which it is not. A young life was cut short. I convey my condolence and my sympathy to his  family,” Smriti told a press conference.

Flanked by Cabinet colleagues Thaawar Chand Gehlot and Nirmala Sitharaman, Smirti rejected accusations that the university officials suspended Rohith and four other students because her ministry was sending reminders to the varsity seeking to intimate them with facts on Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya’s complaint that the campus had become “a den of anti-national politics.” 

Narrating the chain of events, Smriti said the varsity executive council decided to expel Rohith and other students after an FIR was registered over accusations that Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA) members attacked some other students.

“I am compelled to say that the student (ABVP leader N Susheel) who was attacked was also an OBC. The senior-most professor who upheld the executive council’s decision to suspend the students was also a Dalit. The warden who asked Rohith to vacate the hostel is also a Dalit. This is not a Dalit vs non-Dalit issue,” the minister said.

“We forwarded Dattatreya’s letter to the university in compliance with the rules. Dattatreya is not the only MP from whom we received complaint,” she said. To substantiate her claim, Smriti showed a letter written to her by Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Hanumantha Rao on November 17, 2014, wherein he complained about various irregularities and corruption in the varsity, urging her to order a probe.

The Congress MP also held the university administration responsible for a series of suicides committed by students belonging to the marginalised communities and sought the ministry’s intervention. “We wrote to the university and said give us a reply. We also sent six reminders to them. We are following the rules for MPs of every political party. These guidelines were made by the previous government,” she added.

She also displayed to the media a certified copy of Rohith’s suicide note, reading out its content which did not appear in the suicide note circulated on social media.  “To the ASA family, I am sorry to disappoint all of you. There are some badwaters in us,” she read from the note.

Smriti also launched an attack on the Congress, accusing the party of adopting a “shoot politically” policy on the incident.  “The Congress wants to shoot politically on this issue. It is expected but unfortunate. We would not encourage rumour mongering,” she added.