Hyderabad, July 15 -- Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao has served a legal notice to deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, demanding an unconditional apology for comments linking him to the 2016 death by suicide of University of Hyderabad scholar Rohith Vemula.

The notice warns that, should Bhatti Vikramarka fail to apologise within three days, he will face a Rs 25 crore defamation suit and potential criminal proceedings.

The row surfaced after Bhatti Vikramarka, during a July 12 press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi, criticised the BJP's appointment of Ramchander Rao as Telangana state president.

The deputy chief minister alleged that Rao, then an MLC, was among those who...