Politics aside, a mother lost her son. I share the family’s pain…
New Delhi/Lucknow : It has taken five days and a protest by slogan shouting post graduate students for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reach out to the family of 26-year-old Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula, who committed suicide at a Hyderabad University on Sunday.
Two protesters raised slogans, attempting to disrupt the Prime Minister’s speech as he began speaking at the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow. They were swiftly escorted out by the police, who detained them for questioning. They were wearing blue stoles that Master’s students at the university wear.
But Prime Minister Modi continued speaking through the brief commotion, and reached out to Vemula’s family in his speech. “Politics aside, a mother lost her son. I share the family’s pain,” he said. Paying tributes to youth power, he said: “Youth power is priceless. At the same time, we hear news that our young son Rohith has been compelled to commit suicide. I can’t imagine what his family members are going through. A mother has lost her ”laal” (son). Politics aside, the fact is that we lost a son. I can understand the pain,” he said showing his humane side.
However, he sidestepped the key issue that has been agitating the Hyderabad students and the massive protests and much anger that has been directed at two of his ministers, Bandaru Dattatreya and Smriti Irani, for their role in the tragic suicide. Students and the opposition allege that Rohith was subjected to caste discrimination and letters from union ministers Dattatreya and Irani compelled the university to punish the five students. Rohith had hung himself on Sunday, days after the university suspended him and four other Dalit students and banned them from the hostel and other common areas on campus for allegedly beating an activist from the BJP’s student wing.
The prime minister did make elaborate references to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar almost picking up the thread from his observations made in Parliament when the debate on the constitution took place to mark the 125th birth anniversary of the Dalit icon. He said: “Babasaheb Ambedkar did a lot for the nation and he was particular about education. BR Ambedkar did not live for himself; he dedicated his life to the nation for the welfare of the marginalised communities. He proved himself amidst criticism and insults. He didn’t let his commitment go down.
Our Correspondent Adds : Modi had arrived on a day-long visit to Uttar Pradesh with his first stop being Varanasi in the morning. After becoming Prime Minister this was Modi’s fifth visit to Varanasi and first to Lucknow.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Lucknow mayor Dinesh Sharma received Modi at the Lucknow airport. Incidentally, Akhilesh was present at another programme at Lucknow’s Janeshwar Mishra Park where his father Mulayam Singh Yadav was speaking, and Akhilesh requested Mulayam to pause his address so that he (Akhilesh) could leave.
After the function, Modi reached the grounds of Colvin Taluqdars College near the Lucknow University campus, where he took a brief rickshaw ride with Rajnath Singh to reach the venue. He then handed over keys of 11 battery-driven e-rickshaws to beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
In his address, Modi said he was getting flak in different quarters because his government had removed “mediators” and intermediaries in the chain of disbursements to poor and needy people. “The system is changing and nuts and bolts are being tightened in such a way that the shops of the mediators are shut down. That is why such people are getting restless. But I am not worried, and am only concerned with the condition of needy people,” Modi said.
