Hyderabad: Protesting against Union HRD minister Smriti Irani’s comments that the Dalit faculty members were also part of the (University of Hyderabad)UoH probe that eventually led to the expulsion of the research scholar Rohith Vemula, a group of teachers of the UoH resigned from their ‘administrative roles’ on Wednesday.

The teachers alleged that the statements by Irani which were baseless and misleading were bringing down the morale of the Dalits holding administrative positions in the university.

“It (sub-committee of executive council) was headed by an upper caste professor Vipin Srivastava and there are no Dalit faculty members in the sub-committee,” said a press statement by UoH SC/ST Teachers and Officers Forum.

Students Welfare and member of SC/ST Teachers and Officers Forum Dean Prakash Babu said, “The minister is misleading the nation. We will not work under the administration as there has been no representation from the Dalits in the executive council since the university’s inception”, as quoted in TOI

He also said that at least 20 SC/ST teachers wanted to quit their jobs, before faculty members realised that in that event, students will have no support. It was then decided that teachers will quit from administrative positions, but continue to teach. “It is only by staying in system that we can build pressure on the administration”, he added

Several effigies of Smriti Irani were burnt on campus as student groups shouted slogans against the Modi regime and demanded immediate revocation of the expulsion of four students.

The faculty members said Irani was “absolving herself and Bandaru Dattatreya from responsibility for the death of Rohith Vemula”.

It may be recalled that Irani said on Wednesday that at various stages- from Proctoral Committee to Executive Council (EC) to sub-committee of EC- senior Dalit professors of the university were involved in the decision to expel the five students.