July 11, 2026 07:26 pm (IST)
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Rohith Vemula's family accuses HRD minister Irani of falsehoods
New Delhi, Feb 26 (IBNS) The family and friends of Hyderabad Central University scholar Rohith Vemula called a press conference on Friday in New Delhi to clear the air on what they called ‘lies’ being propagated by union HRD minister Smriti Irani in Parliament.
Vemula’s friend Prashant said Irani, in her speeches in Parliament on Wednesday and Thursday, was not telling the truth regarding the events associated with the scholar’s death.
He said Irani is an actress and was acting in Parliament like a film.
"Bring out the facts, don't fabricate them. The competent authority to judge if Rohit was a Dalit is a magistrate, not police. Let the inquiry process come on. Lies are spread by Smriti Irani only to divert the issue. Rohit was Scheduled Caste," said Prashant.
He said political involvement of BJP led to the suicide of Rohit Vemula who was struggling to receive his seven month fellowship.
The family and friends of Rohit also said that the minister's contention that "nobody allowed a doctor near him" when he attempted suicide is also a lie.
During her speech on Wednesday, Irani had suggested that the Opposition was using Vemula to attack the government while the scholar didn’t want to blame anyone for his death.
Irani said in Parliament: "The police has reported..... not one attempt was made to revive this child. Not one attempt was made to take him to a doctor. Instead his body was used as a political tool. Hidden. No police was allowed till 6.30 the next morning. Not me, but the Telangana police is saying this."
Vemula’s mother Radhika Vemula and her other son were also present at the press conference.
Separately, Dr. Rajashree P the Chief Medical Officer, University of Hyderabad, the doctor who was on duty at the university's health centre refuted the minister’s claims that nobody allowed a doctor to visit Vemula to revive him or take him to a hospital, according to media reports.
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