After the Telangana police closed the investigation into Rohith Vemula’s suicide, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticized the opposition for politicizing the matter. She stressed that the sensitive case should not have been manipulated for political gain.
Following the Telangana police’s submission of the closure report on Rohith Vemula’s death, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticized the Congress party for their handling of the issue. She stated that the case should have been managed by the university with care, but was instead turned into a nationwide controversy and used to build a narrative against the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Sitharaman said, “I will use Rohith Vemula as an example to demonstrate how an unfortunate incident, instead of being handled by the university with appropriate sensitivity, was exploited nationwide and a narrative was crafted against the government. Those who sensationalized this tragedy and brought the family into the public eye should apologize for politicizing the situation.”
Sitharaman also recalled when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of Vemula’s death in Parliament, accusing the central government and former Union HRD minister Smriti Irani of engaging in caste-based politics.
“Now that the facts have emerged, we know the toxic narrative did not originate from the government, but from vested interest groups. The proponent of the ‘Mohabbat ki dukaan’ campaign brought this issue to Parliament,” Sitharaman said.
Sitharaman pointed out that the situation could have been resolved amicably within the university, but it was instead escalated and accusations were made against the education minister and the government because the incident took place at a central university.
The Telangana police’s closure report stated that Rohith Vemula was not a member of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and was concerned about his true identity being revealed. The report also cleared the prime accused in the case of abetment to suicide.
Sitharaman emphasized in her statement that intolerance, political interference, and hate did not come from the government, but rather from vested interest groups. She stated, “Rohith Vemula’s dignity deserved to be respected.”
