Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi joined the hunger strike at the protest site in the University of Hyderabad with four others on Saturday morning. Former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma was also present.
Earlier, late night on Friday, Rahul arrived at 12.10 am spoke to the agitating students and lit candles before Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula's picture. He sat for two and half hours with the students of Hyderabad Central University (HCU) who were on a 18-hour-mass hunger strike.
A member of joint action committee for social justice (University of Hyderabad) said Rahul Gandhi will be joining the hunger strike movement from 6am on Saturday National Students Union of India (NHUI) National president Roji M John said, Rahul Gandhi will sit in the hunger strike from 6 am to 6pm on Saturday.
Three of the students including two research scholars who were earlier suspended, sat on fast unto death demanding the fulfilment of their demands such as sacking and arresting of V-C Appa Rao Podile and dropping of Smrithi Irani and Bandaru Dattaretreya from the cabinet among others. About 2,000 students organised a candle light march on Friday night in the campus for Vemula's birthday on Saturday.