Jignesh Mevani targets PM Modi, asks him to break silence on violence against Dalits

Newly-elected Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani addresses a press conference in New Delhi on Friday (Express Photo/Prem Nath Pandey)

A day after he was denied permission to hold a rally in Mumbai, newly-elected Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani slammed the central government saying he was being targeted. He also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clear his stand on the recent violence in Maharashtra. Regarding the FIR filed against him by the Pune police for allegedly “creating communal disharmony” during a “provocative speech,” Mevani said not a word of his speech was inflammatory.

“The BJP is scared of me. They are targeting me, as a result of the Gujarat elections,” Mevani said. “Not a single word of my speech was inflammatory,” the Dalit leader added.

In light of the Maharashtra bandh, Mevani said, “We want a caste-less India. Dont Dalits have the right to take out a peaceful rally to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Bhima Koregaon?” He added that he would organise a Yuva Ahankar (youth pride) rally in the capital on January 9 to protest atrocities against Dalits and other minority communities, which will be attended by other youth leaders as well.

Jignesh Mevani and JNU student Umar Khalid were on Thursday booked by the Pune police under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), IPC sections 505 (statements conducive to public mischief) and 117 (abetting commission of offence by the public). In their speeches at an event on the 200th anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon battle, Mevani allegedly called for “street fights” to end “the rule of one section of people over others”, and Khalid allegedly said that “it is time for retaliation”.

The Pune event was followed by a series of protests across Maharashtra with Mumbai being hard-hit on Tuesday. On Thursday, the Mumbai police had denied Mevani permission to hold a rally.