Accused of Racism, Manipal’s Rashmi Samant quits as Oxford Students’ Union President-Elect
London/ Bengaluru: According to a Times of India report, Manipal based Rashmi Samant, who became the first Indian woman to be elected president of the Oxford University Students’ Union had to inadvertently quit after her past social media post was accused of carrying ‘racist’ and ‘insensitive’ references to the Holocaust.
Rashmi, who did her schooling in Manipal, Udupi, is the daughter of Vathsala Samant, a homemaker, and businessman Dinesh Samant. According to Oxford University, she had received 1,966 of the 3,708 votes cast for SU President securing a landslide victory.
However, the victory was short-lived due to the ‘racism’ controversy, which emerged in the background of her win. Following the circulation of her past problematic social media post, Rashmi issued an apology through an open letter which read, “Every student who has been hurt by my actions or words and seek a chance to gain your trust in me again.”
She further said, “I fully acknowledge my shortcomings over the years and the past few days in my capacity as President-elect.”
'I come to you with an apology and a willingness to learn. I earnestly seek your help in making amends for my mistakes.'
Despite her apology, as calls for her resignation continued, in a Facebook post on Tuesday Rashmi Samant announced that she had decided to step down as President-Elect.
'In light of the recent events surrounding my election to the Presidency of the Oxford SU, I believe it is best for me to step down from the role. It has been an honour to be your President-Elect,' she posted.
Speaking to the TOI reporters from Heathrow airport before boarding a flight back home to India on Wednesday, she said, “Instagram was my campaign page so it got sent to everyone. You had to scroll down really far to see the posts. I don’t know who found them. I don’t want to judge others because I know how much it hurts to be judged”, she expressed.
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Debutant Kumar, Rickleton shine as MI beat KKR by 8 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Debutant Ashwani Kumar's 4 for 24 and Ryan Rickelton's unbeaten 62 handed Mumbai Indians a comfortable eight-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match here on Monday.
Opting to bowl, MI rode on Kumar's brilliant display with the ball to bundle out KKR for 116 before they chased down the target in 12.5 overs.
Left-arm pacer Kumar became the first Indian to take four wickets on an IPL debut and help restrict KKR, who were bowled out in 16.2 overs.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi top-scored for KKR with 26 off 16 balls.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 116 all out in 16.2 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 26; Ashwani Kumar 4/24).
Mumbai Indians: 121 for 2 in 12.5 overs (Ryan Rickleton 62 not out; Andre Russell 2/35).
