Hyderabad: Former Governor of Andhra Pradesh and ex-Union Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Monday informed that a delegation of Congress MPs would meet President of India Pranab Mukherjee over the issue of University of Hyderabad.
Speaking to media persons after visiting the arrested UoH students in Cherlapally Jail here, Shinde said that the Congress MPs would meet the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday seeking his intervention to resolve the UoH crisis by removing Vice-Chancellor V. Appa Rao. He accused the BJP-led NDA Government of being anti-Dalit. He said that the Congress party would support the ongoing agitation of students seeking removal of Appa Rao from the VC’s post.
Shinde also condemned the alleged atrocities on UoH students and faculty by the Cyberabad Police and said at least seven students, who are now lodged in jail, told him that they were forced to sign the confessional statements by the police. He alleged that the local police subjected the students to torture, physical harassment and intimidation. He said such tactics would not deter the students from fighting for the rights of Dalits. He also blamed the Union Human Resources Development Ministry of dragging the issue, instead of finding a permanent solution.
Earlier, accompanied with Hingoli Lok Sabha MP Rajeev Satav, TPCC President N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Karnataka Youth Congress president Rizwan Ahmed, TPCC Working President Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, visited the Cherlapally Jail to meet UoH students. Later, he held an interactive meeting with the representatives of Dalit organisations. The meeting was attended by Rohith Vemula’s mother Radhika, MRPS President Krishna Madida and senior leaders of Congress party including Deputy CLP leader Dr. J Geetha Reddy. (INN)