BJP on Saturday accused Congress of shedding “crocodile tears” over suicide of a Dalit scholar and attacked its vice president Rahul Gandhi for using students as a “political tool” after he joined them at the Hyderabad Central University for a day-long fast over the issue.
Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said nine cases of Dalit student suicides had taken place in the campus during the UPA rule but Mr. Gandhi never bothered to go there as he asked opposition parties to wait for the report of the judicial commission probe ordered by the Centre into the suicide.
“Congress is shedding crocodile tears simply to gain political mileage. Congress and communist parties are trying to make this a political issue and making a beeline to the university, forgetting that 9 such incidents happened during the UPA rule. This is part of their anti-Modi campaign across the country,” he told reporters.
BJP said the Congress vice president’s protests reflected the opposition party’s “frustration” as its leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and most chief ministers were facing serious corruption charges.
“At a place where students go for study, Rahul Gandhi is trying to vitiate its atmosphere. It shows how much frustrated Congress is that it is doing politics over a student’s death.
Such a divisive politics is poisonous and BJP condemns it,” BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.
He charged that both Mr. Gandhi and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi were doing politics over the death of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit scholar who had ended his life on the campus.
Congress MP Hanumantha Rao had also written to the HRD Ministry over suicides by many university students coming from deprived background and the ministry had sent six reminders to the authorities in this regard but Congress had conveniently forgotten it, Mr. Sharma said.
“His protests are nothing but part of Congress conspiracy to defame the Modi government on one pretext or another. UPA was a failure while the BJP government has been successful on all fronts. Congress is unable to stomach it. Now it has made the university a political theatre for its selfish motives,” he said.
Lashing out at Mr. Gandhi, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said his fast was a classic case of trying to score “political brownie points” and charged that his characteristic way of functioning was to shun responsibility and gatecrash into others’ protests.
“Rahul and responsibility, these two Rs never go together. Today he has proved the same. We are all very sad and disturbed about Rohith Vemula’s suicide. But the way Rahul Gandhi has shown insensitivity is the reason why I say he and responsibility cannot travel together,” he told a press conference.
The Congress leader should not act as a judge as the HRD ministry had already ordered a judicial inquiry and the matter was also before a court, he said.
“Rather than politicising it, he should have shown restraint and sensitivity,” he said, adding that it was not a Dalit vs non-Dalit issue and “passion should not be stoked“.
“It is a classic case of trying to buy some political brownie points out of a tragedy. It is itself a tragedy... He has always shunned his responsibilities and gatecrashed into protests of others. He has never taken any issue to a logical conclusion,” Mr. Patra said.
Two Union Ministers also hit out at Mr. Gandhi and asked him to not “politicise” the issue of Dalit student’s suicide when peace has been restored in the campus.
“Exams are nearing in Hyderabad (university). All the students are busy with studies. The government has (already) announced judicial probe into the matter. Peace has been restored there. (In such times), Rahul Gandhi ji is politicising the issue,” Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said.
Mr. Gadkari asked Mr. Gandhi to take up “whatever” issues he wants during upcoming session of Parliament instead of turning the HCU into a “political hub”.
Rural Development Minister Birender Singh, who too attended the event, also took a pot-shot at Mr. Gandhi and said the “the party which has been reduced to 44 MPs from 206 MPs is politicising every issue”.
“They are politicising every issue. There is nothing new in it,” Mr. Singh said.
Published - January 30, 2016 03:11 pm IST
