Anti-poor brigade gets active before polls: BJP

BJP today accused Opposition parties of "politicising" the suicide of Rohith Vemula, saying the "anti-poor, anti-development" brigade has launched a baseless campaign ahead of assembly elections in various states and Hyderabad civic polls.
Terming the suicide as "unfortunate", it said leaders are making conclusions to gain political mileage even before investigations are complete on ascertaining the facts that led to the incident.
"Whenever elections near, this brigade jumps the gun by launching a baseless campaign against the BJP. These anti-BJP and anti-Narendra Modi forces have launched this baseless campaign over the suicide.
"This incident relates to a university and the court and authorities, including the police, are still ascertaining the facts. But this anti-poor and anti-development lobby is jumping the gun and launching a baseless tirade against the BJP," BJP's national Secretary Shrikant Sharma said, adding that assembly elections and Hyderabad civil polls were round the corner.

He also said the victim has nowhere named any individual or organisation in his suicide note.
Sharma said this brigade, that earlier launched the so-called award-return campaign over alleged intolerance, is forgetting that it has harmed and hurt the image of the country by launching such a campaign.

The BJP leader claimed that the same brigade had earlier played up incidents of alleged attacks on churches ahead of Delhi assembly polls and later the award-return campaign, which turned out to be false.
He recalled the incident involving the burning of Dalit children in a Faridabad village, which later turned out to be a case of family rivalry, saying "that was played up by the same lobby".

He said the BJP has full faith in democracy and the law and the truth will finally come out.
Sharma also took a dig at the leaders of various political parties visiting Hyderabad to gain brownie points and asked where were they when similar suicides took place in the same university in the past.
Rohith, a student at Hyderabad University, was found hanging in his hostel room on Sunday. He was doing his PhD in science technology and society studies for the past two years.
His suicide led to protests in the Hyderabad University and elsewhere with activists demonstrating outside the residence of Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya, who has been accused of abetment, and demanded his resignation.

Meanwhile, BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao hit out at Rahul Gandhi saying he should have bothered more about Karnataka farmers committing suicide before asking for compensation in Hyderabad.
"Rahul Gandhi should have shown same generosity for Karnataka farmers who had committed suicide, before asking for compensation in Hyderabad," he said.