Students protest against Roopanwal panel report on Vemula

Accusing Justice Roopanwal panel, which went into Rohith Vemula's suicide, of not performing the task in accordance with its terms of reference but those set by BJP and RSS, a group of students today held a protest against the "atrocious" report submitted by it.
Scores of students of different organisations, who came together under the banner of 'Justice For Rohit Vemula', staged the protest at University of Hyderabad (UoH) this evening, alleging the report was a tool to save BJP's Ministers in the Modi government--Bandaru Dattatreya and Smriti Irani-- and UoH Vice Chancellor Appa Rao Podile.
Raising slogans, the students took out a rally from the shopping complex on the campus to varsity's main gate and burnt an effigy of Roopanwal.

"The Roopanwal Commission constituted by the MHRD came out with an atrocious report by discounting the discrimination and humiliation suffered by Rohit Vemula and his mother Radhika for being Dalits, and by concluding that they obtained SC certificate in order to avail the benefits of the Scheduled Caste category," the students said.
Raising questions about Vemula's Dalit status, the Commission constituted by the HRD Ministry after the Hyderabad university research scholar's death, has said the material on record did not establish it and attributed his suicide to personal reasons.
The Commission, in its report to the HRD ministry, is learnt to have given a clean chit to Irani and Dattatreya.

The protesters also alleged that the Commission's report

was aimed at shielding the accused.
"The Commission has stooped to attacking the mother of Rohith Vemula at the personal level as she has been openly declaring solidarity with all emerging Dalit movements across the country and is taking head-on BJP and RSS.
"Legally speaking, the Commission does not have any jurisdiction and mandate over enquiry/investigation of the caste of Rohith Vemula and the appropriate body to investigate and certify the caste is the (Guntur) District Magistrate," they said.
The Commission, in fact, defended the decision of the University authorities of suspending five research scholars from hostels, they claimed.

Vemula's suicide on January 17 had sparked massive protests at UoH, popularly known as Hyderabad Central University (HCU), and triggered a nation-wide outrage. A political slugfest had erupted in its wake, with a string of parties and Dalit organisations siding with students and accusing the BJP and varsity administration of being anti-Dalit.
UoH has been witnessing sporadic protests since Vemula's death, with students demanding removal of Appa Rao from the Vice Chancellor's post. Rao and others have been booked under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and for abetment of Vemula's suicide.