After keeping a low profile for the last two days, Irani addressed a press conference flanked by three ministers where she took on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying the party wants to "shoot" on the issue which is "expected but unfortunate".
The minister was at pains to project that the ABVP student, who was attacked in a student rivalry, belonged to the OBC community as was Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, who had written a letter to her about the attack.
Facing a number of questions, Irani said she did not want to get into political mudslinging or a blame game and was only bringing certain facts to set the record straight in the face of attempts to create caste divisions in the society.
"An effort is on to instigate students all over the ountry. My appeal is, please do not instigate students and communities deliberately.
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Irani sought to downplay the letter of Dattatreya, who
had sought action on the issue of clash between two student bodies and the "anti-national activities" in the varsity, and her ministry's five communications to the university as a follow-up, which have been blamed for the suicide.
Seeking to turn the tables against Congress, she produced a letter of Congress MP V Hanumantha Rao, who had written a letter in November, 2014 seeking her intervention over various issues including suicide by students of marginalised communities in four years due to "alleged caste discrimination".
Justifying the five communications in the present case, Irani said six letters were sent to the University by her ministry even on the complaint of Hanumantha Rao. She said whatever her ministry had done was done in accordance with the protocol of the Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure.
Irani said there was one last line to "ASA family" (Ambedkar Students Association)...Sorry for disappointing all of you....There is some bad water in us".
She said the two-member fact-finding committee sent by the ministry to the university yesterday will return in the evening and give its formal report.
The minister expressed confidence that justice will be
done as a "fair probe" was being conducted. "
As a government we are very clear. We have a sent fact-finding committee. The committee will submit a report whether any due process was not followed. I will comment only after I see the report," she said.
At the press conference she was flanked by ministers Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Nirmala Sitharaman and Vijay Sampla.
Giving details of the case, Irani said it was the Executive Council of the University that approved the expulsion of five students including Rohith and an Executive Sub-Committee, which included a senior dalit faculty member, was subsequently constituted to go into the matter and it also upheld the punishment.
She also referred to the presence of a number of dalit officials including the hostel warden, who communicated the decision to keep them out of the hostel, to counter the charge of any anti-Dalit bias in the matter.
However, later at a meeting of the Executive Council, a lenient view was taken as expulsion would have deprived the students of the chance to continue pursuing their doctorate and it was decided to permit them into their departments, library and academic meetings but not in hostel, administration and other public places.
The High Court had also refused to intervene in the decisions of the university when the students had challenged them.