Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday claimed foul play in the death of Hyderabad University scholar Rohith Vemula. Irani said in the Lok Sabha that Vemula's body was used as a political tool after he committed suicide. She said, "No doctor was permitted to go near Rohith Vemula. No attempt was made to revive the child. Even the police was allowed next morning. If the vertebrate does not break and even if the pulse falls down to 30 or 40, he can be revived. Who declared him dead?"

Irani, who appeared emotional during her address, said that she was disturbed by the fact some people questioned her integrity as a minister. "Mera naam Smriti Irani hain. Meri jaati kya hain bataon [My name is Smriti Irani. Tell me what caste do I belong to]," she said. Irani also said she will quit politics if any Congress-appointed vice-chancellor of a university can prove the "saffronisation allegation against me", reported ANI.

Earlier, the Rajya Sabha saw multiple adjournments following an uproar over Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati’s remarks that Dalit students like Vemula are being targeted in the country. Irani clashed with the BSP leader on the issue, and said the Opposition was politicising Vemula's death. Opposition leaders stormed the Well of the Upper House, demanding a clear stand from the government on the setting up of a panel to look into the case.

The house was briefly adjourned after Mayawati’s comments. However, the chaos continued once the session was resumed. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury said, “Mayawati ji wants an answer to whether the government will include a Dalit person in the Inquiry Committee for the Rohith Vemula case.” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs MA Naqvi declined to “respond to things in bits and pieces” and said a proper discussion will be held. As BSP leaders continued to sloganeer over the Dalit scholar’s issue, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till noon and then again till 2 pm before it was adjourned for the day.

In the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia said the party condemned any anti-national slogans raised at Jawaharlal Nehru University, but the country has seen a rising level of intolerance of late. He added that chanting slogans was not the same as sedition, and it was not right to judge an entire educational institution by a few of its students. Home Minister Rajnath Singh then said that the Centre will not allow any innocent student to be harassed. He added that those people who indulged in violence at Patiala House Court during sedition-accused JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar's hearing "will not be spared".