HYDERABAD: The removal of Union HRD minister Smriti Irani from her post during the cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday has surely excited some students at the University of Hyderabad (UoH), but they are not rejoicing the move as many feel that the reshuffle cannot be termed as a punishment.
During Smriti Irani’s tenure as HRD minister, the UoH was on the boil owing to the suicide of a Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula and the incident led to nation-wide furore against the discrimination of Dalit and marginalised sections in the universities.
“We are glad that she is removed as HRD minister, but there is nothing to rejoice here. It is a calculated move, they removed her keeping UP elections in mind. Unless, she is sacked from the ministry we have nothing to celebrate for,” S Munna, a student from UoH said.
Speaking about Prakash Javadekar, who has replaced Irani as HRD minister, Munna said “Even Javedekar comes from RSS background, so we don’t expect him to do any good for Dalit students. But he is an educated man and hopefully he will be better than his predecessor and will study about the situations prevailing in the universities. We hope, he won’t repeat the mistakes that Irani did.”
Students said the move of the government to remove Irani shows that they surrender when there is some resistance, but opined that they could have opted for a better person to replace Irani.
“Irani has a very bad record as HRD minister and students from all the quarters are not happy with her continuing in the position. The government knows this and I think that’s the reason why they shifted her to textiles. However, with Javedekar as new HRD minister there will be more struggles ahead,” Arpita Jaya, another student said.
On the other hand, ABVP students said if people think that Irani has been removed from the HRD because of Rohith Vemula or JNU issue than they are living in a fool’s paradise.
“Reshuffle is not a new thing and it is quite common. Linking it with issues in the universities and saying that she has been shuffled because of pressure makes no sense whatsoever. No one knows the exact reason, maybe the government thought that she can do more good in textile department,” N Susheel Kumar, local ABVP leader and a student of UoH said.
“I am not particularly concerned about Irani but Javedekar is known for making wrong decisions as a forest minister. So, I am really concerned that a person like him was given HRD. Now, we need to wait and see how he will fair in this ministry,” J Ravi, another student said.