Telangana: Good response to dharna for Rohith Vemula

Hyderabad: The mahadharna demanding action and arrest of those responsible for the suicide of Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula and implementation of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes report saw a huge turnout on Monday.

The mahadharna was organised by Solidarity Struggle Committee for Justice for Rohith. Students from various institutions in Telangana, teachers from the University of Hyderabad and English and Foreign Languages University and Dalit activists belonging to 33 organisations took part in the event.

Around 35 Dalit victims of the Pathapally incident in Mahbubnagar participated in the mahadharna that was organised at Prakasham Hall in Nampally as permission to hold it at Indira Park was rejected by the police.

Speaking at the event, Dr Anand Teltumbde, civil rights activist and professor at IIT Kharagpur, accused the state government of being hand in glove with the BJP. He said that by not taking action against UoH vice-chancellor Prof. Appa Rao Podile, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was insulting the Telangana Assembly where he had promised that he would take up the issue of recall of the V-C with the Centre.

Social activist Teesta Setalvad said the uprisings across the country were because of the “Hindutva fascist, casteist and authoritarian rule” of the BJP-led government at the Centre. People should unite to seek justice for Rohith and ensure those named in the police complaint for the suicide, including Prof. Podile and Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya were arrested. Dr K.Y. Ratnam, UoH faculty. condemned the attitude of the TRS government towards the issue.