TG BJP President’s remarks on Dalit scholar's identity reignite caste controversy
Hyderabad: The newly elected Telangana state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), N Ramchander Rao is in hot waters with the Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA). Ramchander Rao has drawn sharp condemnation from the student group after describing the ASA as 'Urban Naxals' and for questioning the caste identity of Rohith Vemula, a university scholar whose suicide in 2016 sparked nationwide protests against caste discrimination.
In an interview with a news channel, Ramachander Rao claimed some members of ASA as ‘Urban Naxals’ and further went on to say that Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit and claimed that he brought a 'fake certificate' as he was a Dalit. Rao also noted that in Rohith Vemula's suicide note, he ‘clearly mentioned that no one was responsible for his death’.
The statement released by ASA read, “The caste status of Rohith has been affirmed time and again by his mother, Radhika Vemula, his brother, Raja Vemula, and by testimonies from his neighbourhood in the official deposition. And despite the falsified closure report no competent authority has declared otherwise. The claim made by BJP functionaries that Rohith was not a Dalit is not only factually erroneous, but a wilful act intended to obscure the truth and absolve perpetrators”.
The statement further stated that naming ASA as ‘Urban Naxals’ is a ‘smear campaign’, a familiar tactic used to delegitimize Ambedkarite resistance. ASA claimed that it never upheld Afzal Guru. Further challenged Ramchander Rao to present credible evidence to support his claim.
Further, ASA added, the police closure report did not acquit Ramchander Rao. "Absence of conviction is not evidence of innocence, especially when the entire machinery of the state is structurally aligned against the oppressed," said Vennela ASA president.
Ramchander Rao’s claim of being “acquitted” is both legally weak and morally wrong, he used his political clout to silence Dalit resistance alleged ASA in a statement.
