Hyderabad: Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy on Saturday categorically stated that Rohith Vemula, the research scholar of Hyderabad Central University who committed suicide, was not a Dalit.
Intervening during a discussion on the HCU and OU incidents in the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Saturday, Nayani objected to the reference of Rohith Vemula as Dalit and claimed that he belonged to “Vaddera” of Backward Classes.
However, Congress MLA Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that the Home Minister was trying to negate the claims of Rohith’s mother Radhika.
Speaking on the issue later, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said it did not matter whether or not Rohith was a Dalit. But his suicide and the incidents that followed were quite painful. (INN)