Congress, Left tried to gain political mileage by linking Rohith Vemula's death to BJP: Ex-MLC Ramchander Rao

Former BJP MLC accuses Congress and Left parties of exploiting Rohith Vemula's suicide for political gain.

Former BJP MLC N. Ramchander Rao, an accused in the 2016 Rohith Vemula suicide case, has alleged that Congress and Left parties had tried to gain political mileage by linking the death of the University of Hyderabad student to the BJP.

Vemula's suicide was painful, but the attitude of the Congress and Left parties was deplorable, Ramchander Rao said on May 3.

He made these remarks after the Telangana Police filed a closure report in the case before a local court. The police gave a clean chit to the accused, including Mr. Rao.

Police claimed Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit and ended his life in 2016 as he feared that his "real caste" would be discovered.

A group of students protested at the University of Hyderabad, raising slogans against the BJP, Union Minister Smriti Irani and former university vice-chancellor Appa Rao Podile, who was also among the accused persons.

In a social media post, the Students' Federation of India (SFI) said the closure report filed by police "on Rohith Vemula's institutional murder is an exercise in irony".

"The Congress government and its police are supporting the false narrative of the BJP by tagging Rohith not to be a Dalit despite lack of proof of the same," it said.