Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah pledges to enact Rohith Vemula Act after Rahul Gandhi's appeal

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday reaffirmed his government's commitment to enacting the Rohith Vemula Act in Karnataka, following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's call to bring the law to prevent caste-based discrimination in the education system.

Thanking the former Congress President for his heartfelt letter and unwavering commitment to social justice, he assured that the state government will bring this legislation at the earliest.

"Our Govt stands firm in its resolve to enact the Rohith Vemula Act in Karnataka — to ensure no student faces discrimination based on caste, class, or religion. We will bring this legislation at the earliest to honour the dreams of Rohith, Payal, Darshan, and countless others who deserved dignity, not exclusion," he said in a post on "X".

This will be a step towards realising Dr B R Ambedkar’s vision of an equal, compassionate India, he added.

In his letter to the Karnataka CM, Gandhi highlighted the discrimination Ambedkar faced in his lifetime and said Siddaramaiah would agree what the architect of the Constitution faced was shameful and should not be endured by any child in India.

"It is a shame that even today millions of students from Dalit, Adivasi and OBC communities have to face such brutal discrimination in our educational system," Gandhi said.

"The murder of bright young people like Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi and Darshan Solanki is simply not acceptable. It is time to put a firm end to this. I urge the Karnataka government to enact the Rohith Vemula Act so that no child of India has to face what Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Rohit Vemula and millions of others have had to endure," Gandhi said in his letter to the Karnataka chief minister dated April 16.

Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student, died by suicide due to caste-based discrimination, in 2016.