Dear friends from the media, This is to inform you that, on the advice of my lawyer, I have decided to accept the cheque of Rs. 8 Lakh from the University of Hyderabad as compensation for the death of my son, Rohith Vemula who died after being harassed by Vice Chancellor Apparao Podile, BJP leaders Bandaru Dattatreya, Ramachander Rao and Smriti Irani.
You may recall that I had refused to accept the money when it was first offered. I was under the wrong impression that this money was being offered at the behest of Apparo and thought that they were trying to buy my silence.
However, upon the advise of all the forefront legal & social supporters, I’ve learned that this money is being paid not at the the behest of Apparao but as per the orders of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. You may recall that the NCSC under the leadership of the honourable Sri P L Punia had declared that my son Rohith was a Dalit. Sri Punia, as you may also recall, slammed the findings of the Justice A K Roopanwal commission appointed by Smriti Irani to look into my son’s death. Sri Punia stood by our side and on the side of truth when he gave a statement saying that the Roopanwal commission’s findings were “fake and fictitious”. I am grateful to Sri Punia for standing by the side of truth despite being under tremendous pressure from the entire central government of Narendra Modi.
I am writing this press note because I want to do everything transparently. I did not want rumours flying around that Radhika Vemula has made a secret deal with the university and accepted money. I was pretty sure that Apparao would float such rumours in case I accepted the money. I want to state in no unclear terms that the acceptance of this compensation, which is rightfully due to the family and dependents of Rohith Vemula, is in no way a compromise with the university management. I will not rest until Apparao Podile and his masters in the BJP are punished for their crimes.
I have dedicated the rest of my life to Babasaheb’s mission, it is more important than anything else to me. In the last two years I have travelled to hundreds of rallies across the country and addressed thousands of people. I was overwhelmed by the love and respect I received from the people. Wherever I went, people called me Veera Mathe, mother of a martyr. I will always be conscious of my responsibility and promise never to let down the cause for which my son laid down his life.
Jai Bhim
Radhika Vemula