PM break silence on Rohith’s suicide says, ‘Politics aside, a mother has lost son’

Amid protests over the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula at University of Hyderabad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday finally broke his silence and said, “Politics aside, a mother has lost a son, I felt his family’s pain.”

“What his family members must be going through. Mother India has lost her son. Politics aside, the fact is that we lost a son. I can understand the pain,” PM Modi said while addressing convocation programme at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow.

However, some students Students attempted to disrupt the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech and raised slogans. The students were escorted out by security officials. PM then proceeded to give his address.

PM attended events associated with BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution and a Dalit icon, signaling his party’s focus on Dalits, who comprise a vital 21-22 per cent of voters.