Over 100 ABVP members protested against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday at Delhi University for “politicising” the suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula.ABVP, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), had called for a two-day nationwide protest from January 31 to February 1 to condemn the alleged caste politics being played by the Congress. “We are protesting against the attempt to politicise the death of Rohith (Vemula). It is unfortunate that a bright scholar has lost his life and leaders like Rahul Gandhi are trying to get mileage by playing caste politics. This is equally condemnable,” ABVP Delhi state secretary Saket Bahuguna told IANS.
Vemula committed suicide on January 17 following his suspension along with four other Dalit students over an alleged clash with an ABVP leader.ABVP national general secretary Vinay Bidre on Sunday demanded an apolitical investigation into the suicide, besides a forensic investigation of the suicide note.Bahuguna also condemned police brutality on the students who were protesting outside the RSS office last Saturday. “Police should not have lathicharged them. ABVP does not support any such act against students. We strongly condemn this,” Bahuguna said. On January 30, students protesting over the suicide of the Dalit research scholar were reportedly assaulted here while marching towards the RSS office. To disperse the students, police used excessive force on the students and lathicharged them. The protest over the suicide of Rohith in the University of Hyderabad intensified when Rahul Gandhi joined the agitators on the campus, observing a day-long fast on Saturday.