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Modi voices grief as murmurs grow

“...When there is news that a youth of my country, Rohith, was compelled to commit suicide, what his family must have gone through. Mother India has lost a son. There will be reasons, there will be politics (surrounding it) but the fact remains that a mother has lost her son. I feel the pain very well,” a visibly emotional Modi said.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the convocation ceremony of the B R Ambedkar University here, which was marred by protest by two students, who were evicted by police as they shouted slogans like “Modi murdabad” and “Modi go back, Modi go back”.

Two students, who were donning blue stoll, meant for Masters degree scholars, were detained after they shouted slogans as the Prime Minister took to the podium. University Proctor Kamal Jaiswal said, “we were taken aback. We had taken all precautions. Action will be taken as per rules.”

However, Modi did not go into the politics behind Rohith’s suicide. Meanwhile in a bid to defuse the raging controversy, the Centre on Friday decided to set up a judicial commission to go into the dalit student’s suicide in Hyderabad University, which announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs.8 lakh to his family but protests continued.

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence and expressed his grief over the death of Rohith Vemula, the dalit scholar, seven students continued their indefinite hunger strike demanding removal of Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya and the Vice Chancellor continued.

HRD Minister Smriti Irani sought to reach out to the family of the deceased student by speaking to Rohith’s mother over phone and assured her that justice will be done on the basis of a judicial inquiry. On its part, the University sought to reach out to the agitating students when it announced an ex-gratia of Rs eight lakh to the grieving family of Rohith.

The announcement came a day after the university authorities revoked the suspension of four students, who were acted upon along with Rohith for allegedly assaulting an ABVP leader in August last year.

Based on the report by a fact-finding team, the HRD Ministry decided to set up a judicial commission to look into the sequence of events leading to the suicide of Rohith Vemula, a dalit scholar at the Hyderabad Central University. The commission will submit its report within three months, said a ministry statement.
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