Challenging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to file another FIR against him ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls, Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani Wednesday said the arrest has increased his popularity as he dominated the news and social media for 10 days. Another FIR would help him "increase popularity" among voters, he said, taking a swipe at the BJP. "It is good (if they book me again). I dominated the news and social media for 10 days. There were larger-than-life profiles of mine. I would appeal to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji that they should lodge another FIR against me one more time before the elections so that my constituency backs me completely and Gujarat and Congress will feel the current. I will tell the BJP, keep your police baton ready because I am keeping my courage (jigar) ready," said in Vadodara. Buy Now | Our best subscription plan now has a special price Lashing out at the ruling party for "crushing dissent and free opinions", he said the BJP government does not believe in or have even an iota of faith in the constitution or democracy of India. "(It) used the Assam government and police machinery illegally and arrested me for a tweet created as part of the conspiracy. They took me 2,500 km away. That is not all, in order to keep me behind the bars there for a longer duration, they used a lady police officer as a shield and created another fake FIR against me. It clearly shows that this is an attack on the constitution of India. This (BJP) government is trying to send out a message that even an elected representative cannot raise his voice against them." Mevani was in Vadodara to address a Samvidhaan Bachao gathering at Ekta Nagar in the city. Later, he addressed a press conference at the Vadodara city Congress office in Dandia Bazaar where he blamed the RSS and the BJP "desperate to wipe out the Constitution". Mevani said, "No matter how anxious, abrasive, and desperate the RSS and BJP—believers of Manusmriti—are to finish the Constitution, I will visit Sankalp Bhoomi in Vadodara and resolve to put up a strong fight to save the democracy and constitution." Referring to the recent attack at the Faculty of Fine Arts of MS University, the legislator challenged the BJP to create a similar campus gifted to the country by "visionary Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III". The "soul of Sayajirao Gaekwad III would be anguished" to see the state of affairs today, Mevani said, adding, "They (BJP) speak so much about development, but do they have the courage to create a campus like MSU? No one, in these decades, has been able to create an institution like MSU. Not just that, the liberal thoughts in MSU, which it was known for, is now shrinking. Students cannot express their thoughts or hold debates because their basic right to express themselves is being trampled upon." Flanked by Vadodara Congress leaders, Mevani said the BJP had not prioritised the local issues of the district and is instead focused on crushing the opponents. He accused the saffron party of using its government machinery to crack down on "common people”, while allowing "white-collared criminals" to go scot-free. "One leader in Gujarat makes one tweet and there is an FIR but drugs worth Rs 1.55 lakh crore are caught from Mundra port and Gautam Adani is not interrogated even once. There is no action against bootleggers. The Gujarat assembly debated the allegation of rape made by a woman against a BJP leader but not even an investigation has been initiated so far. There is no probe into the 22 exam paper leaks. There is no urgency to fill up stipulated vacant government posts. the demand of ASHA workers for the last 25 years to increase their remuneration to a fair amount has not yet been heard." Replying to a question that the Congress is losing ground in the state, Mevani said, "The Congress is right in front of you. They (BJP) were planning to displace 50,000 families for a dam but the Congress led an agitation, Rahul Gandhi addressed the gathering. The Congress gheraoed the Assembly over the paper leak. When I was arrested the Congress came out to the street to support me. The BJP government is not even ready to pay a compensation of Rs 4 lakhs for Covid19 deaths—which Rahul Gandhi has been asking for—even to their own party workers and page pramukhs, who are strategising for them to win the upcoming polls. These are the real issues. Narendra Modi's BJP may talk about mandir, masjid and such issues but our issues are padhai, dawai and kamai. This is the agenda of our politics." Mevani expressed confidence that the Congress will form a government in Gujarat with 125 seats. He also demanded an account of the funds collected in the name of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Echoing Congress leader Bharatsinh Solanki’s statement on Tuesday, Mevani said: "The fake bhakts of Lord Ram have cheated the people of India in the name of Ram Mandir. I say Jai Bheem. But let one person from my community stand up and say that I have collected money in the garb of Jai Bheem and not accounted for it, I will resign as MLA at 11 am tomorrow. But not one person can make such allegations against me. Why don't they (BJP) show the accounts of the funds collected in the name of Ram Mandir? Show us the accounts."
