Participating in the UOH students' Maha Deeksha for a day, Gandhi demanded that the government bring in an act against caste discrimination.
Stating that Rohith Vemula, who committed suicide allegedly after social boycott imposed by the University Of Hyderabad authorities, faced dishonour like Mahathma Gandhi did in South Africa, AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi demanded that the government bring in an act against caste discrimination.
He warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Congress would intensify its agitation in case the Prime Minister failed to bring in such an act.
Rahul Gandhi participated in the Maha Deeksha taken up by the students demanding that the government initiate action against the persons who caused the death of Vemula, for a day on Saturday, and extended his support to them.
Addressing the Maha Deeksha, Gandhi alleged that the BJP and the RSS were trying to impose their idealism upon students.
"We too accept your idealism in case the students accept your idealism," he said.
Asking the Modi government to give respect and dignity to students, Gandhi said that the students knew much better about the world than Modi did.
Stating that the problem in UOH was not confined to a single student, Gandhi lamented that the discrimination in universities across the nation was high.
"I came here to extend my support to the striking students so that no student faces the dishonor faced by Rohith, in any university. The government failed to give Rohith the freedom to utter the truth," he said.
He told the students about his flight experience with a Japan commuter. "When I asked him why creativity in Japan was higher than in India, the Japanese citizen told me that caste discrimination was high in India, and hence the creativity in India was lower," he said.
He asked all Indians, be they from any caste or religion, to focus only on strengthening the nation and taking it forward.
He said that he was bending his head in front of Rohith, who didn't bend his head in front of any one.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, Vemula's mother Radhika and brother Raju, and students participated in the Maha Deeksha. Professors from Delhi's JNU, Madras University and EFLU, students from Osmania University, and the SC/ST Professors' Forum of UOH also participated. Samatha Sainik Seva Dal activists from several districts organized a parade and paid tribute to Vemula on the occasion.
On the other hand, ABVP student activists staged an agitation in front of the main gate alleging that Gandhi was resorting to death politics, and raised slogans of "Rahul Go Back". Tension prevailed for some time when ABVP activists tried to barge into the university premises. The police arrested the activists and shifted them to a nearby police station.
Congress leaders, including TPCC Chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, Khurshid Ahmed, Shabbir Ali, V Hanumantha Rao, Vamshichand Reddy, Mallu Ravi, Ponnala Laxmaiah, D Sridhar Babu and others, launched a counter-protest in front of the main gate extending support to Gandhi's deeksha inside. They also demanded that action be taken against union ministers Bandaru Dattatreya and Smriti Irani, and HCU VC Appa Rao Podile, and alleged that the BJP government was trying to saffronize education across the nation and polluting the universities by injecting politics into them.
The police arrested them, too, and shifted them to the Chandanagar police station. Uttam Kumar Reddy protested the arrest, stating that the State and Central governments were destroying the democratic right to protest of the people.