Uproar in RS over Rohith Vemula's suicide

The Rajya Sabha witnessed three adjournments today following uproar over Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati raised this issue as soon as the House met for the day and said the 'Dalit students are targeted'.

The other BSP MPs started raising slogans against the BJP-led NDA Government and demanded justice for Vemula's family.

CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, speaking in the Upper House, said Mayawati wants an answer as to whether the government will include a Dalit person in the Enquiry Committee in Vemula's suicide case.

However, the government said it was ready for an immediate discussion followed by a reply by the concerned minister.

"We will not respond to things in bits and pieces, there will be a proper discussion," Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

"Have a discussion right away sir! Who uses a child as a political tool?" asked Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani.

Rohith, who committed suicide last month, was among the five research scholars suspended by the Hyderabad University in August last year over an alleged assault case.

The matter took a political turn with allegations that the extreme step taken by Rohith was a result of discrimination against Dalit students at the behest of Union Minister of State for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya, following his letter to the Union HRD Minister, seeking action against their 'anti-national acts'.