Jignesh Mevani holds Delhi rally , says PM Modi needs to speak up on Bhima-Koregaon
NEW DELHI : Newly-elected Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani launched an attack against the ruling BJP in his address at the ‘Yuva Hunkar’ rally on Tuesday.
Saying that the saffron party was irked because of its marginal win in the recently concluded Gujarat polls, Mevani said, “Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakore and Jignesh Mevani crushed BJP’s target of 150 seats in Gujarat and that is why I am being targetted.”
The rally was oragnised to raise the demand for the release of Dalit outfit Bhim Army’s founder Chandrashekhar Azad who was arrested last year in connection with the Thakur-Dalit clashes in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district.
Mevani, who has emerged as a charismatic youth leader post his stunning victory in Gujarat, is expected to be joined by former JNU Students body president, Kanhaiya Kumar, Akhil Gogoi, a farmer leader from Assam and Chandrashekhar Azad, who founded Dalit Bhim Army and was arrested in June last year.
The organisers are going ahead with the rally, even though the police have refused permission.”We were just going to demonstrate democratically and peacefully, the government is targeting us, an elected representative is not being allowed to speak,” Mr Mevani told reporters.
The 37-year-old lawyer-activist – accused of inciting the recent caste clashes at Bhima-Koregaon near Pune that spread across Maharashtra – had announced his intention last week to visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Office during the rally. Last week, a case had been filed against him in Pune, accusing him of spreading enmity among castes.
The Delhi Police have cited a green court order that bans protests in the heart of the city. “Nobody has been given permission. Since there is an NGT (National Green Tribunal) order that no protest can be staged at Jantar Mantar, we have asked organisers to hold the protest at alternate sites like Ramlila Maidan,” senior police officer Ajay Chaudhary has said.
The NGT on 5 October last year had ordered officials to “immediately stop all activities of dharna, protest, agitations, assembling of people, public speeches and using of loud speakers among others at the Jantar Mantar Road.”
You have to answer why Rohit Vemula was killed. You have to answer why people are not getting the money that is in the foreign accounts of Indians. You have to answer why millions of people are not getting jobs despite promises,” he said.
“The way corruption, poverty, unemployment and the real issues are being swept under the carpet and ghar wapasi, love jihad and cows are being given space, we stand against that. We do not believe in love jihad. We are the believers of love. We will celebrate April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti) and February 14 (Valentine’s Day).”
Reacting to Minister of State MoS, Anantkumar Hegde’s remarks on the Constitution, Mevani said, “We believe in the constitution and will protect it. You attack me as much as you want, I will stick to the Constitution. PM Modi has to choose between the two, Manusmriti and the constitution.
These aren’t books, but belief systems” Addressing a rally in Karnataka recently, Hegde had that the BJP had come to power to “change the Constitution” and would do so in the “near future”.
JNU student leaders, including Kanhaiya Kumar, Shehla Rashid and Umar Khalid and Assam farmers leader Akhil Gogoi also spoke at the rally. “We are not the believers of love jihad, we are the believers of pyaar and ishq. We will celebrate February 14,” Mevani said.
Former JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar launched a scathing attack against the BJP. “BJP isn’t a party, it’s like a brand new washing machine, where something goes in but comes out sparkling clean.
Of the 282 MPs, 109 MPs have serious crimes allegations against them. Not asking about Lalu, but what about Sukhram’s son or Mukul Roy?” he said. “We are not against any religion or any community, we are here for the constitution. We don’t have crowds, I agree. We don’t have crowds, but we have real, living breathing people.”
“They are afraid of Chandrashekhar, not because he’s a threat to the country: but to those who want to convert this to a Hindu RashtraThere’s no space for Dalits in the Hindu Rashtra that they envision,” JNU student Umar Khalid said at the rally. (With Agency Inputs ).
