NEW DELHI:
Gujarat MLA Jignesh
Mevani today denied making an inflammatory speech and said that his image is being deliberately tarnished by members of the Sangh Parivar and BJP.
The
Dalit leader was responding to an FIR registered against him for his alleged "provocative" speeches during an event in Pune on December 31.
He also denied the allegations accusing him of instigating violence and said that he never went to Bhima Koregaon or participated in the shutdown in the state.
The shutdown was called by various Dalit groups to protest the state's "failure" to stop violence against celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in Pune district on Monday, disrupted normal life across Maharashtra, including Mumbai.
Mevani said that the results of the Gujarat elections have dented the ego of BJP and the charges against him are politically motivated in the wake of his rising popularity.
"Members of Sangh Parivar & BJP made a childish attempt to tarnish my image & target me, it is an after effect of the Gujarat results & it is also because they have a sense of fear about 2019,"he added.
Issuing a warning to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the MLA from Vadgam constituency of Gujarat said that if attacks against Dalits continue, the community will teach a lesson to BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The leader further said that by targeting an "established Dalit leader" the government has offended millions of Dalits of the country.
At the end of his address, the leader announced that on January 9 he will be organising a "Yuva Rally" to further the cause of social justice in the country.
"At the end of the rally, I will go to Prime Minister's Office with the Constitution of India in one hand and Manusmriti in another. I will ask the Prime Minister, what does he choose? The Constitution or the Manusmriti," he concluded.
