Hyderabad, July 15 (IANS) Telangana BJP President N. Ramchander Rao has sent a legal notice to Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka over the allegations made by him linking the BJP leader to the suicide of Hyderabad University research scholar Rohith Vemula.

Rao has asked the Congress leader to tender an unconditional apology within three days, failing which he will initiate defamation proceedings worth Rs 25 crore.

Rao, who is also a High Court lawyer, sent the legal notice on Tuesday, stating that he has made malicious and false allegations against him.

The state BJP chief mentioned in the notice that the final investigation report by the SC/ST Special Court in March 2024 clearly absolved him.

“No evidence, no abetment, and the caste claim was proven fraudulent. Despite this, Mallu Bhatti stooped to political slander, misusing his position to spread lies,” the BJP said.

The party made it clear that it will not tolerate false propaganda against its leaders.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi on July 11, the Deputy Chief Minister had slammed the BJP for appointing Ramchander Rao, one of the accused in the suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula, as the president of the BJP’s Telangana unit.

The Congress leader alleged that the BJP has once again shown that it rewards those who go against Dalits and tribals.

He alleged that the BJP leader had brought pressure on the authorities of Hyderabad Central University to suspend Rohith Vemula and four other students following a clash between ABVP and ASA students’ groups, which eventually led to the suicide of Rohith Vemula in 2016.

Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka recalled that Rohith was a PhD scholar and was an active member of the Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA). He said Rohith, along with his friends, was fighting for self-respect and social justice for Dalits, but ABVP leader Susheel Kumar filed a false case and brought a lot of pressure on the university authorities to book and rusticate the boys and shame them, and this led to Rohith’s suicide.

He alleged that then BJP MLC Ramchander Rao, along with his ‘goons’, staged a dharna, met the vice chancellor, and forced the authorities to take action against the ASA students, and this pressure ultimately led Rohith to take his life.

He said that from the Union Human Resource Minister to local MLC Ramchander Rao, the BJP brought pressure on the university authorities to take action against Rohith and other Dalit students.

–IANS

ms/uk