Congress will leave no stone unturned to ensure justice for Rohith Vemula's family: K C Venugopal

New Delhi: Facing flak for the closure report in Rohith Vemula case, Congress on Sunday said there were "many discrepancies" in the investigation conducted previously into his death in 2016 and asserted that the A Revanth Reddy-led Congress government will "leave no stone unturned" to ensure justice for his family.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal said when they form a government, they will pass a Rohith Vemula Act, "specifically addressing the issue of caste and communal atrocities on campuses to ensure no student coming from socio-economic backwardness has to face the same plight as Rohith ever again".

Telangana Police had recently submitted a closure report in the controversial Rohith Vemula suicide case claiming that he was not a Dalit and his reasons for taking the extreme step because of the fear that his "real caste" would be discovered.

"Rohith Vemula’s death was a grave atrocity that completely exposed the anti-Dalit mindset of the BJP. The Congress, including Rahul Gandhi-ji, has stood with Rohith Vemula’s family through this difficult period," Venugopal said on 'X'.

He said the Telangana Police has already clarified that the "concerned closure report was prepared in June 2023".

"There were many discrepancies in the investigation conducted previously. The Congress government in Telangana will leave no stone unturned to ensure justice for Rohith’s family," he added.

Congress manifesto released on April 5 has said, "We will enact the Rohith Vemula Act to address discrimination faced by students belonging to the backward and oppressed communities in educational institutions."

Venugopal's statement came a day after Rohith Vemula's mother Radhika Vemula met the Telangana Chief Minister and appealed to him to see to it that "justice" is done to the family. Reddy assured her that an investigation would be conducted again into the 2016 incident.