Updated May 11th, 2022 at 07:37 IST
Rahul Gandhi seeks to woo tribal community in Gujarat ahead of polls, lauds Jignesh Mevani
Seeking to woo the Tribal community ahead of the Gujarat polls, former party president Rahul Gandhi addressed a 'Adivasi Satyagraha Rally' in Dahod on Tuesday.
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Seeking to woo the Tribal community ahead of the Gujarat polls, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed an 'Adivasi Satyagraha Rally' in Dahod on Tuesday. Maintaining that the tribals have been neglected by the Gujarat government, Gandhi assured them that Congress will raise their demands vociferously. On this occasion, he appealed to the youth segment by citing the example of Jignesh Mevani, who remained undeterred in his opposition to the ruling dispensation despite facing action by the police.
Ex-Congress chief Rahul Gandhi remarked, "What is happening with tribals in Gujarat? You are not getting the advantage of water, land and forest. It is impossible to go to college, university, or school. Government schools and colleges have been closed one by one. The Gujarat government should listen to what Adivasis want because this government is not listening to your voice. Congress wants to make it such a strong pitch along with you so that this voice is heard by the PM and not just Gujarat."
"Jignesh is sitting here. For the first time, I came to know that permission is required to start an agitation. Except for Gujarat, there is no place in the world where permission is required to start an agitation. He was sentenced to 3 months in jail. But I know Jignesh. It won't make a difference even if you sentence him to 10 years in jail. There are lakhs of such youths in Gujarat who understand the truth and know the reality of the Gujarat model," he added, flagging the need to create a 'Naya Gujarat'.
लड़ेंगे और जो हमारा है उसे लेकर रहेंगे।
— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80)
अब इस तानाशाह सरकार के सामने झुकेंगे नहीं।@RahulGandhi @INCIndia @INCGujarat pic.twitter.com/09dmsFhtNl
Jignesh Mevani's association with Congress
A former journalist and lawyer, Mevani is the founder of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch and has been at the forefront of many agitations in Gujarat. With no Congress candidate in the fray, he won as an Independent from Vadgam in the 2017 Gujarat polls by beating BJP's Vijaykumar Chakravarti with a margin of 19,696 votes. On September 28, 2021, he extended support to Congress and addressed a press conference at the party headquarters alongside Hardik Patel.
While clarifying that he was not formally joining Congress owing to technical reasons as he is an Independent legislator, the young leader announced that he will not only contest the 2022 Gujarat election on the party's ticket but also partake in all of its activities. In a late-night development on April 19, he was arrested by the Assam Police from the Palanpur Circuit House. This was in connection with his tweet claiming that PM Modi considers Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as God.
He was booked under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 153(A) (promoting enmity between two communities), 295(A), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and sections of the IT Act. Though he got bail on April 25, he was re-arrested in another case pertaining to his “assaulting" a policewoman while he was being brought from Guwahati to Kokrajhar. While he was finally released on bail on April 29, the Vadgam legislator was sentenced to three months imprisonment for holding a march from Mehsana to Dhanera in July 2017 without permission.
Political scenario in Gujarat
Gujarat has proved to be an impregnable fortress for BJP as it has been winning the Assembly polls in the state since 1995. In the 2017 election, there was a nail-biting contest between the saffron party and Congress which was bolstered by the fiery campaign of Hardik Patel, Mevani and Alpesh Thakor. In the end, BJP won 99 seats in the 182-member Assembly whereas the Sonia Gandhi-led party bagged an impressive 77 seats. After a series of defections though, BJP currently has 111 seats in the state Assembly as compared to Congress' 64 seats.
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Published May 11th, 2022 at 07:37 IST