Rohith Vemula suicide: Only forwarded two letters, says Dattatreya

HYDERABAD: Under fire for his alleged role in the circumstances leading up to the suicide of University of Hyderabad scholar Rohith Vemula, Union minister of state for labour Bandaru Dattatreya on Wednesday said his role was "limited to forwarding" two representations he received from ABVP "on the state of affairs" in the university to the Union ministry of human resources development.
In a statement released here, Dattatreya said he received a representation on August 10, 2015 "on the state of affairs in the University of Hyderabad which disturbed me greatly and I forwarded the same to the MoHRD in the hope that things in the campus would change for the better. On August 29, 2015, I received a second representation 'in this' (sic) and this too I forwarded to the MoHRD with a request to look into the matter and to do the needful."
Dattatreya, in the statement, added, "I have expressed my deep shock on learning about the death of Hyderabad University research scholar Sri Rohith Vemula and I wish his family condolences and the strength to withstand & overcome this tragic loss."
Recalling his long stint in public life, the BJP leader said, "I am also an elected member of parliament from the Secunderabad constituency. Since my entry into politics in the 80s, I have always been a leader connected to the masses and to all sections of the society on a daily basis, whether or not in any position of power. Taking representations from common people, constituents and forwarding them to concerned ministries is what I consider my earnest responsibility by being an elected people's representative."
Dattatreya also said that UoH is an autonomous institution with established procedures and that he has "no role in the administration of the university. My role was only limited to forwarding these two representations. I would have happily forwarded representations of any other student body, if they were to approach me."
"I hope the matter will rest now with this clarification," Dattatreya added.