Asaduddin Owaisi backs Hyderabad varsity students' protest

MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday sought immediate removal of University of Hyderabad Vice Chancellor Appa Rao over the suicide of a Dalit research scholar.

The Hyderabad MP visited the university campus and expressed solidarity with the students, who are on hunger strike.

Owaisi blamed the intervention by central minister Bandaru Dattatreya for the suicide of Rohith Vemula.

He recalled that 11 Dalit scholars were rusticated when Appa Rao was chief warden in 2001, and three of the scholars still did not get jobs because of his action.

Owaisi warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that if such incidents continue, he would have to pay a heavy political price.

"I will do whatever little I can do. I will try to contribute whatever I can because the cause of justice has to be served. It is more important than my life and your life. I hope we succeed. We can't see more youths dying in the universities," the MIM leader told students.

Referring to Rohith's suicide note in which he wrote Jai Bheem, Owaisi said the universities across the country will reverberate with this slogan.

"We have to live in hope and fight. This will be the best tribute to Rohith," he said adding that this will be a long drawn battle and not an easy one.