Guj MLA Mewani detained at Jaipur airport for 2 hours

JAIPUR: Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mewani was detained in Jaipur for over two hours after he landed in the city. He was on his way to Merta City in Nagaur district to attend an event to commemorate the 127th birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, which fell on Saturday. Jaipur police has also barred him from addressing events in the city until April 30.
On the reason for preventing Mewani from entering Nagaur on Sunday, district SP Paris Desmukh told TOI, “We had three grounds for stopping him. We had no problems with the event itself – there were other speakers today, and it passed off peacefully. Mewani’s presence was barred because we had some incidents at the protest of April 2, and were struggling to restore normalcy. Mewani has five criminal cases in Gujarat pending investigation. We were not able to gather details of cases pending in Maharashtra and other states. We had received intelligence inputs pointing to the possibility that his presence could foment trouble. That is why we decided that it was best that the event proceed without him.”

In a statement to the press on Sunday, Mewani said, “Today, immediately after I landed at the Jaipur airport, a few cops made me sign a letter saying MLA Jignesh Mewani’s entry is restricted in entire Nagaur district. I was going there to talk about Baba Saheb Ambedkar and the Constitution. This is violative of my fundamental rights. If they can do this to an elected representative, then what must be the condition of an ordinary citizen and Dalits in Vasundhara Raje rule?”

Dharmendra Jatav, who was hosting Mewani, said, “We had permission for the event we planned in Merta City. We were not informed until this morning that it could not be held. While seeking permission, we had mentioned that Mewani would be the prime speaker. When Mewani arrived at the airport, we decided that we could just go around the city, since we were asked not to leave for Nagaur. But even that was a problem, we were not allowed to leave the airport. It’s clear, this government is acting out of fear. Until the elections in about eight months, the government does not want any public meetings that will question its performance.”