Rohith family rejects relief

Agitating students term Modi’s remarks ‘insulting’

Agitating students of Hyderabad central Univers-ity on Saturday termed as “insulting” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks over the suicide of dalit scholar Rohith Vemula even as the student’s distraught family rejected the Rs 8 lakh ex-gratia relief offered by the institution. The students vowed to step up their stir and said the PM’s “inaction” reflected his “political interests”.

The students rejected an appeal by minister of state for HRD Upendra Kushwaha, who urged them to withdraw their agitation and assured them justice, a day after the Centre decided to set up a judicial commission to look into the sequence of events leading to suicide of Rohith.

Giving a push to the agitation, Rohith’s family rejected the ex-gratia amount and also criticised the NDA government for “delay” in its response in condoling his death. Rohit’s mother Radhika, sister Neelima and brother Raju, who visited the restive campus, demanded that “those responsible for his death” be brought to book.

“Not Rs 8 lakh, we don’t want even if you give Rs 8 crore from HCU, where he died,” Neelima said. Radhika said, “I want to know why he died. Those responsible should be punished...Why he was suspended.”

“Smriti Irani (Union HRD minister)... She called up after five days. Why it took five days. You are also a woman. You are also a mother. It took five days (to call up the family and condole the death),” Neelima added.

Rohith’s body was found hanging in a hostel room on HCU campus on January 17.

All the seven students who have been on a hungerstrike on the issue, were on Saturday shifted from the hungerstrike camp to the HCU’s health centre after their health condition deteriorated.