The main Opposition Congress will bring a breach of privilege motion against the HRD minister Smriti Irani in both the Houses for “misleading” Parliament and the country on the issue of dalit research
The main Opposition Congress will bring a breach of privilege motion against the HRD minister Smriti Irani in both the Houses for “misleading” Parliament and the country on the issue of dalit research scholar Rohit Vemula.
While the Opposition is already united on it, the NDA allies, especially the LJP led by Ram Vilas Paswan, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the RPI(A) are uncomfortable with the way HRD minister has been handling the issue.
In a sharp riposte to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “Satyamev Jayate” tweet after Ms Irani’s fiery speech in the Lok Sabha, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asked him to hear the version of Rohith’s mother, the dalit scholar who committed suicide. “Satyameva Jayate! Modiji, do hear these words of Rohith Vemula’s mother,” Mr Gandhi said on micro-blogging site Twitter.
On Saturday, the Congress, along with the CPI(M) and the JD(U), accused Ms Irani of “wilfully misleading” Parliament, hitting back at the minister who had targeted Mr Gandhi and the Left during a debate on JNU and Hyderabad University controversies.
“The HRD minister has not only been economical with the truth but has also wilfully misled Parliament on the unfortunate suicide of a young dalit student, Rohith Vemula,” Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik and senior spokesperson Kumari Selja alleged.
Mr Wasnik told reporters that the Congress planned to bring a privilege motion in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha soon, while CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim said he would be doing so on Monday.
“I will be giving a notice for breach of privilege against Irani to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for misleading the House on the Rohith Vemula issue,” Mr Salim said.
JD(U) leader and Rajya Sabha member K.C. Tyagi said that he and nominated member K.T.S. Tulsi will give a privilege notice against Ms Irani to Chairman Hamid Ansari on Monday.
“There are contradictions in many statements of Irani regarding the Rohith Vemula case. This is a fit case of breach of privilege,” Mr Tyagi said. They cited the outburst of Radhika, Rohith’s mother, against the HRD minister and accused the BJP of being anti-dalit.
They alleged that the strong words from a mother “who has lost her son to the BJP and in particular the HRD minister’s campus politics is a stamp of how recklessly and ruthlessly their party is hell-bent on clamping down the voices of dissent”.
She had also insinuated that Rohith was “not a dalit”, they said, adding that this claim has also been rubbished by Radhika.
Mr Wasnik said it was believed that Ms Irani would try to “heal” Rohith’s family but instead Ms Irani has rubbed salt in their wounds. Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said Ms Irani was “too clever by half and then you get caught in your own web and that’s exactly what has happened to the HRD minister”.
