Congress throws weight behind Jignesh Mevani after his remarks on cops spark protests

Led by district committee presidents, Congress workers, along with the locals, will start from Patan and Banaskantha today. “This will be followed in other districts too,” Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Amit Chavda told The Indian Express.

“We are planning these rallies in all districts starting today. The government is protecting those involved in the business of alcohol and drugs but it is their responsibility to stop this. The BJP is shirking responsibility by putting the police families in front. Yesterday too, they made people – including women – protest against our Jan Aakrosh Yatra in Himmatnagar. Liquor and drugs has become a business in Gujarat. Drugs worth crores are often seized from the state. The representation made by Jignesh Mevani in Tharad was the representation of the women of Gujarat. The Congress party salutes honest police personnel but at the same time they’re not taking action against bootleggers and drug peddlers,” Chavda told The Indian Express.

Reacting to Gujarat DGP Vikas Sahay’s statement, Jignesh Mevani in a video message on Tuesday said, “Gujarat DGP Vikas Sahay in a recent address to police staff said if there is any lapse on the part of any police official, we will address that administratively. There is no need to ‘tolerate’ any allegations by outsiders…..You are right in sending across this message for police personnel but as the leader of the police force in the state you must be aware that senior officers across 33 districts earn from rampant businesses of drugs, land deals, mining, gambling, alcohol. I appeal you to stop drug and alcohol business in Gujarat.”

Speaking with this paper, Gulabsinh Rajput, President, Banaskantha District Congress Committee, said, “We have planned a rally in Tharad that will start at 11:00am from Tharad crossroads till the collector’s office, covering a distance of 2 km. It is in support of Mevani as well as against drugs and alcohol menace in the state. Jignesh Mevani spoke up against the issues but the government is misleading the public. We will be submitting the representation to the collector demanding action against those involved in the trade of liquor and drugs.”

Protests had erupted – condemning Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani after he allegedly criticised the police regarding the sale of drugs and alcohol in the area.

Mevani in his address had talked about “stripping off their badges”, including those of senior police officers, during the Congress’ Jan Aakrosh Yatra in Dhima village in Vav-Tharad district on November 22. Mevani had publicly reprimanded the police, claiming they were “not working” and that liquor sales were rampant in the region.

Later, accompanied by local residents who had reportedly approached Mevani with complaints that drugs and liquor were being sold freely in Tharad, Mevani submitted a representation to the Superintendent of Police office and local police station in Tharad.

Following this, on November 24, police families came out in protest of Mevani, demanding his resignation along with an apology. Slogans such as ‘Jignesh Mevani hai hai’ , ‘Police pariwar jindabad’, ‘Gujarat police jindabad’ were raised duirng the rallies.

The police families in their memorandum submitted to the District Collectors stated MLA Mevani behaved inappropriately in public with police officers and employees and used language that is “unbecoming of a public representative”.

On Monday, shops in Tharad were also shut in protest against Mevani and “solidarity with the police”. Admitting that Mevani raised a valid issue of alcohol – however not in an appropriate tone and words, Prakashbhai Soni, Vice-President, Tharad Trader Association, told The Indian Express, “What Jignesh Mevani spoke here about the issue of alcohol and drugs is correct and valid and even we agree that it should not be there. But the manner in which he spoke against senior police officers was not acceptable at all. Vav-Tharad is a new district and everyone including the police is working hard and taking suggestions from people. But to keep himself active on social media, Mevani used such language. They (police) are new, it is an insult not to the police but to us. We realised we had to stand by the police officers so we called a meeting and decided to call for a bandh.”

Patan District Congress Committee President Ghemarbhai Rabari in a public appeal on Tuesday said, “In protest against the recent demonstration and protest by the police against Mevani, Patan District Congress, Taluka and City Congress Committees, National Dalit Adhikar Manch, appeal to chairmen of all fronts, office bearers, Congress party leaders, activists and leaders, office bearers, activists of National Dalit Adhikar Manch to be present in large numbers to submit a representation to the collector.”

Gujarat Congress leader and the party’s Seva Dal chief Lalji Desai said, “In Gujarat, over the course of four years, drugs worth around Rs 16,000 crore were seized, but no culprits have been found in any of these cases.”

He alleged, “Today, drugs are coming into Gujarat unabated and instead of taking action on that, the state’s home minister is conveying through the system that police personnel should protest against the Congress’s “Jan Aakrosh Yatra”.