NEW DELHI: Union finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman
slammed Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi
for politicising the death of
Rohith Vemula
, a PhD scholar at the
University of Hyderabad
, without allowing law enforcement agencies to properly investigate the case.
“The left-liberal groups and leaders in the opposition, who say ‘mohabbat ki dukan’, actually perpetrated this problem, spoke so badly, and spoke also in the Parliament about his interpretation,” the Finance Minister said, adding, “speaking in the parliament was the worst example.
The issue was dragged along without allowing law and enforcement agencies to do their jobs; the matter was given political colour and tone.”
“The allegations were levelled against the then education minister and the government because the university happened to be the central university. Political interference, intorlence, and hate lie not with the government but with the vested interest groups, who do not lose any opportunity to bring toxins,” she said.
When asked about political interference in research institutes and how to safeguard freedom of thought, Sitharaman stated that research should be data-driven and free from political agendas.
“I don’t think this is the issue at all. There is speculation that the government may not support some research–no, not at all. Every research is fine but the research must be data-based and data-driven with regression methodology. It has no political agenda underlined. Research should be research but if there are political agendas, there would be political responses too from the ruling party or any other party,” said Sitharaman.
Sitharaman cited the example of Rohith Vemula’s case, stating that instead of allowing the university to handle the situation sensitively, the case was politicized and a narrative was built against the government, accusing it of suppressing students and being against the Scheduled Castes (SCs). She called upon those who politicized the incident to apologize to the entire country.
Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar at the Hyderabad Central University, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a hostel room on January 17, 2016. He was allegedly upset over disciplinary actions taken against him by the university.
Sitharaman made these remarks while addressing students at Deccan College in Pune.
(With inputs from agencies)
