JAC: V-C was BJP appointee

Two days after the speech of HRD minister Smriti Irani in Parliament, the UoH students’ Joint Action Committee for Social Justice called another claim of the minister as a fabrication.

The JAC members on Friday came up with records showing that the committee that had suspended research scholar Rohith Vemula had been set up by Prof. Appa Rao Podile, who was appointed by the NDA government. They said that Ms Irani was lying when she said that the committee had been set up by the UPA regime.

“Smriti Irani said that the committee which suspended Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula was not constituted by her government, but by the UPA regime. This is yet another utterly false statement. The EC that socially boycotted five Dalit research scholars was headed by the newly appointed VC Prof. Appa Rao Podile, who was appointed by the BJP government,” said JAC members on Friday.

“There was outright political intervention from ABVP, BJYM and BJP in the case of the Dalit scholars. First, MLC Ramachandra Rao misused his position and threatened the university to take action against the Dalit scholars. He warned the university administration that ‘outsiders’ would teach them a lesson otherwise,” they said. “Later, Union minister of state for labour Bandaru Dattatreya wrote to Ms Irani accusing members of the Ambedkar Students’ Association with atrocious, baseless and utterly false allegations. He branded the University of Hyderabad as a ‘den of casteists, extremists and anti-nationals’. Then five letters were sent by Ms Irani to ensure punishment of the Dalit scholars," they said.

“On what grounds then is Smriti Irani washing her hands off the murder of Rohith Vemula?” asked the JAC members.