Telangana govt moves HC to reopen Rohith Vemula case; bill to fight caste bias ready
HYDERABAD: Deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Friday announced that Congress govt had approached the high court seeking a directive to reopen the Rohith Vemula case, vowing that those responsible for the PhD scholar's death "will not be spared.
"
The move comes nearly three months after leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha,
Rahul Gandhi
, wrote to chief minister A Revanth Reddy to enact a law against caste discrimination named after the 26-year-old Dalit student-activist from University of Hyderabad (UoH), who had died by suicide in Jan 2016.
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Talking to reporters at the AICC headquarters in Delhi, alongside the party's SC cell chairman Rajendra Pal Gautam, Bhatti said state govt was working on the Rohith Vemula Act to provide legal safeguards against caste-based discrimination in higher education institutions.
The draft bill has been sent to the law department for vetting, he said.
Telangana police filed a closure report in the case last year, which gave a clean chit to all the accused, including current Telangana BJP chief N Ramchander Rao. Revanth, however, rejected the closure report and said the investigation was on.
"The entire country hung its head in shame the day Rohith Vemula died. It is our responsibility to ensure such a tragedy never happens again," said Bhatti, who is also an alumnus of UoH.
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He attacked BJP, accusing it of not only failing Dalit youth but also rewarding individuals named in the caste discrimination case linked to Rohith's death.
"The then BJP MP Bandaru Dattatreya, MLC N Ramchander Rao and ABVP leader from UoH N Susheel Kumar - all named in the case - have been rewarded," he said.
'BJP rewarding those named in Rohith case'
He demanded, 'Dattatreya was made governor, Ramchander is now BJP's Telangana president, and Susheel Kumar has been appointed as an assistant professor in a central university.
The BJP should apologise unconditionally to the nation for this.'
Bhatti alleged that a systematic campaign of pressure and harassment was mounted against Rohith and four other students, with interference coming from Union HRD (now education) ministry. According to him, Ramchander Rao allegedly pressured local police to file cases against the students, while the university's administration, under external pressure, expelled them from the hostel — which pushed Rohith to take the extreme step.
Citing Rohith's suicide note and earlier petitions to university authorities, Bhatti said they reflected the deep despair faced by marginalised students. 'When Rohith wrote in a heartbreaking note that Dalit students should be given a rope along with admission—so that they can hang themselves—it shattered the conscience of the nation,' the deputy CM said.
He recalled Rahul Gandhi had immediately visited the campus, met with student groups, and offered support to Rohith's mother, expressing solidarity with the cause of social justice.
The deputy CM emphasised that the proposed Rohith Vemula Act would aim to institutionalise safeguards for Dalits, Adivasis, and other marginalised communities, especially in educational institutions. 'Rahul Gandhi's commitment gave hope to millions. This Act will translate that hope into legal protection,' he said.
'This is not just about one university or one student. It is about what kind of country we want to build. The govt's fundamental duty is to protect the dignity, rights, and lives of every citizen, especially those who have historically been denied of them,' he said.
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