Malicious intent to present Rohith Vemula suicide as a caste battle: Smriti Irani

Breaking her silence on the suicide of a young research scholar at Hyderabad University last Sunday, HRD Minister Smriti Irani said Wednesday that the incident was being misrepresented with “malicious intent” as a “caste battle”. “I am compelled to come out today because there has been a malicious attempt to present this as a Dalit versus non-Dalit issue to ignite passions. The student (ABVP leader Nandanam Susheel Kumar) who was attacked was himself an OBC student,” she said at a press conference, flanked by Social Justice Empowerment Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot and Minister of State for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman. Dismissing allegations of influencing university authorities into suspending five research scholars, including Rohith Vemula who committed suicide, Irani pointed that the executive council of Hyderabad University which took the decision was made up of nominees of the previous government. “I would also like to point out that the suicide note of the student does not mention any political organisation or MP except Ambedkar Student Association of which he was himself a member,” she said. Vemula’s suicide snowballed into a political controversy with agitating students and political parties targeting vice chancellor Appa Rao, MoS Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya and Irani.   Indian Express