Sparks fly in House over JNU row, Rohith Vemula

New Delhi: The raging Jawaharlal Nehru University controversy rocked Lok Sabha proceedings on Wednesday with an emotionally charged human resources development minister Smriti Irani saying the JNUSU  president, Kanhaiya Kumar, and other students were found indulging in anti-national activities by the varsity authorities themselves.

She also made an emotional pitch on Hyderabad Central University student Rohith Vemula’s suicide, saying that her ministry had no role in his death and that the deceased himself had said in his suicide note that nobody should be held responsible for his action.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh assured the Lok Sabha that no innocent student would be harassed.

Bandaru Dattatreya called Rohith anti-national: Jyotiraditya Scindia
“The issue of the sedition charge slap-ped on some students should be left to the courts to decide. The home minister also told the House that those found guilty of attacks on the media in the Patiala House courts would not be spared,” Rajnath Singh said replying to a discussion on the JNU row and Vemula suicide incident.

Sparks flew as soon as the House started a discussion on the JNU row and Hyderabad Central University student Rohith Vemula’s suicide.

Initiating the debate, Congress chief whip Jyotiraditya Scindia alleged “undue interference” by Union HRD minister Smriti Irani and labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya in Vemula’s case.

“Bandaru Dattatreya in his letter had called Rohith a castiest and an anti-national,” Mr Scindia said. He also raised the issue of FTII, IIT Madras and JNU. Mr Scindia attacked external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, tribal affairs minister Jual Oram and Ms Irani for emphasising that Vemula was not a Dalit.