August 14, 2026 10:14 pm (IST)
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60 protesters demanding Smriti Irani's resignation detained in Chennai
Chennai, Jan 27 (IBNS) Sixty protesters, demanding the resignation of union ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya over the suicides of Hyderabad research scholar Rohith Vemula and three medical students in Tamil Nadu, were detained in Chennai on Wednesday, reports said.
Student organisations from across the country have called for a one-day strike on Wednesday in all universities to protest against the death of Rohith Vemula, 26, who committed suicide at the Hyderabad Central University 10 days ago.
The joint committee of student protesters has said it plans to mark Rohith's birthday on Saturday, January 30, with a 'ChaloDelhi' (Let's march to Delhi) protest. Rohith would have turned 27.
"The continuing and growing incidence of tragic suicides of students belonging to marginalised sections of society makes it imperative that a 'Rohith Law' be enacted... This should ensure punitive action against university administrations guilty of encouragement, abetting or even inaction in the case of the persistence of exclusionary practices in universities," the committee said in a statement.
Last week, bodies of three young women were pulled out of a well just opposite their medical college in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram. A suicide note that they allegedly wrote described the appalling lack of even basic facilities at the college and their struggle to be heard by the administration.
At the Hyderabad Central University, students have been on a relay hunger strike in protest against Rohith's death. One of seven fasting students was shifted to the university's health centre on Tuesday, and is now said to be in stable condition.
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