Kishan flays Congress, TRS for targeting Dattatraya on Dalit student’s suicide

Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy today accused the ruling TRS and Congress parties of targeting Union minister Bandaru Dattatraya in connection with suicide case involving a Dalit student of University of Hyderabad.

Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, Kishan Reddy alleged that some political parties and students organizations are trying to defame the Union government. He also alleged that the Congress and TRS wanted to target a BC leader and Union minister Bandaru Dattatraya in UoH student Rohit Vemula’s suicide case. Neither Dattatraya nor HRD minister Smiriti Irani has any connection in this case, Kishan Reddy asserted.

The BJP State president further alleged that some political parties were trying to politicize the issue even though Rohit in his suicide note stated that nobody was responsible for his suicide. He pointed out stated that students were suspended before Dattatreya has written a letter. Kishan Reddy said the suicide by Rohit was an internal matter of the university and the BJP has no connection with it.

Terming the UoH incident as unfortunate, the BJP leader said it was not proper to give a political color to the problems of the students. Kishan Reddy also said Rohit himself had stated in his suicide note that nobody was responsible for his death. “Problem had arisen in the university ever since Yakub Memen was hanged. They posted comments in facebook in favour of Memen. When ABVP students went there to question, Rohit and his friends attacked them. A student by name Sushil was badly beaten and he was in hospital for many days. Without going into the facts, case is being diverted”, he said.

The BJP leader clarified that when some students approached Dattatraya and complained that though they were badly beaten up, no action was taken against the culprits, the Union minister responded by writing to HRD Minister Smriti Irani. But the five Dalit students were suspended by the HCU on August 31 even before Dattatraya’s letter reached the University. He pointed out that while Dattatraya wrote the letter to the Centre on August 27, Smriti Irani forwarded the letter to the Central University on December 27, i.e. after five months. Therefore, the two Union ministers were not at all responsible for the Dalit research scholar’s suicide.

Questioning the visit of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to the Central University on Tuesday to console the family of the deceased, Kishan Reddy asked the former as to why he did not care to visit Warangal when three family members of former Congress MP Sircilla Rajaiah committed suicide. He alleged that the Congress party was trying to fish in troubled waters and wanted to derive undue political gain from this issue.

Kishan Reddy also asked Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao about his election-eve promise of installing a Dalit as Chief Minister after Telangana State was formed. (NSS)