Rohith Vemula wasn't Dalit, says Sushma Swaraj

BJP leader Kailash Vijaywargiya said Rohith did not commit suicide due to expulsion from hostel.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday said that Rohith Vemula, the scholar who committed suicide in the HyderabadCentralUniversity, was not a Dalit.

”The facts have come out in the case and as per as my complete knowledge, that student (Rohith) was not a Dalit. By calling him a Dalit student, this whole case has been raised a communal incident by some people,” Swaraj said in Maharashtra on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kailash  Vijaywargiya, known for his controversial statement, termed the expulsion of Rohith as a ‘small incident’ and said he doubts whether this alone led to suicide by the ‘courageous youth’.

"The suicide of Vemula is unfortunate. He was a courageous youth who had a zeal to swim against the tide. Though a probe is on in his death, I don't believe he committed suicide just because of a small incident of his expulsion from the hostel," the BJP general secretary said.

"I don't think he took the extreme step because he was perturbed over his expulsion," he told reporters.

"I think those people who are responsible for his suicide are the ones who are agitating to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. Once the probe is complete, these people would get exposed," Vijaywargiya maintained.

Asked about Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi taking part in the agitation over Rohith's death, Vijaywargiya said, "Politics should not be done on the issue. Our political rivals are unable to digest that under Modi's leadership, the country's stature is rising in the world and therefore they are indulging in such acts."

Reacting to Vijaywargiya’s remarks, Congress leader Tom Vadakkan said, “Kailash Vijayvargiya shoud give his views to his party and tell his party’s spokesperson to say that. If they do, we know its the party’s line and condemnable.”