Rohith Vemula suicide: Don't try to 'crush' Indian youth, Rahul warns Modi govt

Bandlapalli: Continuing his broadside against the Modi government, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused it of attempting to impose the "failed RSS ideology" on everyone and alleged Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula was "crushed" by the ruling dispensation.

He also took on Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj over her reported statement that Rohith was not a Dalit.

"Your government crushed FTII students and beat up JNU students. Why all this is happening because you are trying to impose one ideology on youth of the country. He (Rohith) alleged that you were trying to finish off the education system at universities and IITs.

"You are attempting to forcefully impose the failed ideology of RSS on everyone. Just try to do it and see what the youth of India will do to you. You will see Rohith in every school, college and university. Don't try to crush Indian youth. This is my advice to central government," he said.

"Our students in colleges and universities are being suppressed. Rohith Vemula was made to commit suicide. Why...because he was expressing his views. He did not harm anyone.

He did not kill anyone. But the Indian government crushed him," the Congress Vice-President said at a public rally held to mark 10 years of UPA's flagship MGNREGA programme.

"And now a Minister of central government says he was not a Dalit. Sushmaji, it is not the question of whether Rohith was a Dalit or not. The question is of a youth of India, who wanted to study and learn, was killed by Indian government," the Amethi MP asserted.

Earlier, activists of ABVP, BJP's student wing tried to disrupt Rahul's speech by raising slogans and holding placards but police personnel immediately intervened and took them away from the public meeting venue.

The Congress leader had last week visited Hyderabad Central University to express solidarity with students protesting the suicide of Rohith.