Will speak to Modi about Hyderabad varsity V-C Appa Rao, says KCR

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday said he would personally take up the issue of recalling University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor Professor Appa Rao with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Chief Minister's comments came during a debate in the Legislative Assembly.

The Chief Minister also assured that he would take action after an investigation if the police were found to have committed any excesses while dealing with the students who protested resumption of duty by the V-C.

State had told Hyderabad varsity V-C Appa Rao not to resume work

An independent fact finding team constituted by various human and dalit rights groups including the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights and Amnesty International has claimed that UoH vice-chancellor Prof. Appa Rao Podile was advised in February by the Telangana home Minister and Cyberabad police commissioner not to resume duty because it may cause law and order problems.

The team released an interim report on the violence which rocked the university on Tuesday after Prof. Appa Rao returned from leave after the suicide of Rohith Vemula.

The report blamed the vandalism and violence on the campus on March 22 on Prof Appa Rao’s return. The SC ST Faculty Forum of the university and some other teachers had reached a similar conclusion earlier.

The team said Prof. Appa Rao had refused to meet them and directed them to Prof. Vipin Srivastava who offered to speak to them only over the phone.

The team came out with recommendations which include action against police who wilfully neglected their duty under SC ST Prevention of Atrocities act and fast-tracking of cases related to the issue filed with police.

The team wanted normalcy restored in the university and that the state government should play role in it, and sought replacing of the vice-chancellor. The final report will be submitted to the Centre and the Telangana state government, the committee said.

The team did not come say who started the vandalism at the V-C’s lodge building on the campus on Tuesday and students from which group were responsible for manhandling some non-teaching staff members media persons.