Hyderabad scholar death: Arvind Kejriwal calls for Dattatreya, Smriti Irani removal

Backing the students’ stir at Hyderabad University, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday mounted pressure on the Centre as he demanded sacking of Union ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya over the suicide by a dalit scholar which he called a “national shame”.

Coming out all guns blazing against HRD minister Smriti Irani, the AAP leader while addressing the agitating students, said her statement Wednesday about Rohith Vemula’s death as well as subsequent agitation by the university’s students was a clear attempt to make it a caste issue for which she must apologise.

Smriti Irani statement shameful: Arvind Kejriwal Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday that Union HRD minister Smriti Irani made a “sharmnak bayan (shameful statement)” and lied about the facts relating the issue of suicide of research scholar Rohith Vemula.

He said that it was shameless on Ms Irani’s part to create a controversy over the caste of Rohith. He also attacked Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya for writing to Ms Irani that the UoH had become a den of “casteist, extremist and anti-national” activities because of an event organised by the Ambedkar Students Association.

He asked how a Central minister without conducting an inquiry make such a remark about the university.

Mr Kejriwal said that discussing Ambedkar’s teachings cannot be casteist and nothing can be more national than forming a union in his name. He said that the letters sent by the MHRD to the UoH with their subject mentioning action taken report on anti-national activities shows that even the ministry had concluded that anti-national activities are taking place in the university, based on the minister’s letter.

Continuing his attack on Ms Irani, Mr Kejriwal said that her name should be included in the FIR filed after Rohith’s suicide on the abetment of suicide case in which Mr Dattatreya has been named as one of the accused. Mr Kejriwal said vice-chancellor Appa Rao Podile, Ms Irani and Mr Dattatreya should be sacked and all the demands made by the protesting students must be met.