KCR Suppressing Rohith Vemula Movement: Congress

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that there was no change in attitude towards SC/STs and other minorities in the University of Hyderabad (UoH) even as research scholar Rohith Vemula's first death anniversary, January 17, nears.

Reddy, while addressing an all-Party meeting organized by the TPCC SC Department at Somajiguda Press Club on Monday, said that no action was taken against the individuals responsible for creating the circumstances that forced Vemula to commit suicide. Instead, those suspected to be accused were rewarded by the Central government.

Branding the BJP-led NDA government as anti-Dalit, he claimed that the UoH Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile, who was accused of harassing Dalit students, was not only retained but also given an award by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Indian Science Congress (ISC) held at Tirupati recently.

"This is an open challenge to all those who supported the movement against discrimination of Dalit students in HCU and other universities. No action has been taken against the Union Ministers or the officials who were accused of abetting Rohith Vemula's suicide," he claimed.

The TPCC chief said that the Union government tried to divert attention by questioning Rohith Vemula's and his family's caste. "Rohith's family members and friends are being harassed and intimidated in unspeakable ways by the authorities," he alleged.

The Telangana Congress President condemned the alleged suppression of students who supported the movement to deliver justice to Vemula's cause. The Congress leader said that such students were cherry picked and targetted by serving notices on trivial issues and threatening jail terms.

Reddy also condemned Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for not taking action against the police officials who were supposedly guilty of harassing and torturing the students involved in the movement. While making a statement in the State Legislative Assembly on March 26, the Chief Minister had assured the House that he would order a probe into the allegations of police excesses, Reddy said. However, neither the probe was completed nor any action was taken against the guilty police officials, he added.

The TPCC chief further accused the TRS government of providing logistic support to the UoH VC in suppressing the agitation seeking justice for Rohith Vemula.