Gujarat bandh if cases against Dalits not withdrawn: Jignesh Mevani

MLA Jignesh Mevani held a road show from the airport to Ambedkar statue, Sarangpur on his return to Ahmedabad on Tuesday. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

Mevani who was arrested by Assam police in connection with two cases was recently granted bail by a court there.

“The cases should be withdrawn the way cases related to Patidar agitation were withdrawn… it was good that they did (withdraw cases against Patidars)… we support it…,” he said.

Mevani saluted the judge who granted him bail with certain observations against the Assam police. “Nowadays, the number of people with spine has become fewer than those with a strong spine. But I — Jignesh Mevani, an accused — am saluting the judge for showing strong spine.”

Adding that people may be wondering why Assam police came so far to Gujarat and arrest a sitting MLA, Mevani said it was because he has been fighting the BJP and RSS across the country and has been administering pledge to people to not vote for the BJP or go to RSS shakhas.

Mevani said that he would never delete the tweet for which he was arrested as he had said nothing except asking the PM to make an appeal for peace in communal disturbed areas.

Referring to the second case registered against him in which a woman police officer alleged assault by Mevani, he said that while he was being taken to Kokrajhar, the woman officer was made to sit next to him instead of a front or rear seat in the vehicle. Mevani claimed that he suspected a conspiracy to fix him at that moment itself.

Thanking the entire leadership of Congress in Delhi, Gujarat and Assam for standing by him, Mevani said, “Rahul Gandhi woke up from sleep in the midnight for me and instructed all the top leaders of the party to ‘stand strongly with Jignesh till he is released from jail’.”

The public meeting was attended by senior Gujarta Congress leaders, including party’s state president Jagdish Thakor, former presidents Amit Chavda and Arjun Modhwadia, and chief whip of the party in the Gujarat Assembly CJ Chavda.