Gujarat: Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani quits AAP

Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani (R) with Kanhaiya Kumar at a rally in Una. (Source: PTI/file)

Lawyer and activist Jignesh Mevani, 35, who led the Dalit movement to protest against the Una flogging incident, resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Saturday. He clarified that he had no intention to fight elections.

The AAP, he said, never tried to politically encash the Dalit movement. “I am one of the leaders, yet some jealous elements from the Dalit community and BJP workers tried to create a wrong impression about me. So, to avoid any further gandagi (dirt) from such elements, I am resigning from AAP. This was and will remain the genuine Dalit struggle,” he said.

Mevani’s political affiliations had come in for criticism, threatening to split the movement, which has seen two major conventions since the Una flogging incident.

Mevani said his resignation was conveyed to all top AAP leaders. “They agreed with me and expressed their wish to let the Dalit movement in Gujarat grow on its own. I am thankful to AAP that they did not politicise the Dalit movement,” he said.