HCU row: Sena cautions BJP against comments that can boomerang

Citing the Dadri lynching incident, the Shiv Sena today cautioned senior ally BJP against the statements by some of its leaders on the suicide by a Dalit student in Hyderabad “boomeranging” on the party.

The Sena, however, gave a clean chit to Union ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya who are under attack over the suicide of Rohith Vemula and whose resignations have been demanded by Congress and other opposition parties, saying they are victims of “politicisation” of the incident.

“BJP General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao has said that Rohit’s mental condition was not stable and he supported terrorism. There is a high chance that such statements will boomerang (on the party)” the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana.’

“The BJP has experienced this during the Dadri incident. Some comments made by their leaders to defend the incident boomeranged on the party. Finally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to intervene,” the Sena said.

Some BJP leaders including Union Minister Mahesh Sharma and UP MLA Sangeet Som had made controversial remarks over the lynching of a Muslim man on September 28 in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida, a Delhi suburb, on suspicion of eating beef. The remarks came ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls which BJP lost.

The Sena said the death of Rohith Vemula has taken a political turn, more so, because it involves a Dalit.

“Seeking Union ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya’s resignation is part of politics being played around the issue,” the Sena said.

“We believe that there should be a detailed investigation into the incident at the Hyderabad Central University which made Rohith take the extreme step and the perpetrators should punished,” it added.

Training its guns on Rahul Gandhi, the Sena said that Congress Vice President is one of those politicians who is milking the issue for political gains and warned that the issue may take a turn for the worse if leaders do not stop politicising the issue.