GUWAHATI
Independent Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani, released on bail after more than a week in police custody in Assam, said his arrest was a conspiracy by the BJP to harass him.
Intimidation and misuse of the government machinery would not deter him from his fight against the “anti-people” policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he asserted.
Arrested from Gujarat’s Palanpur on April 20 for an allegedly offensive tweet against the Prime Minister, Mr. Mevani was granted bail on April 29 by the Barpeta district and sessions court. He was released later that night.
The court had observed that the first information report (FIR) against him was falsely registered. According to the FIR, the MLA had “assaulted and outraged the modesty” of a woman police officer while being escorted from the Guwahati airport to western Assam’s Kokrajhar on April 21.
Two FIRs
This FIR was the second against him in a space of two days. The first was based on an April 19 complaint lodged by Arup Kumar Dey, a BJP executive member in Assam’s autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council, for an alleged controversial tweet against the Prime Minister.
“Modiji was coming to Gujarat and I tweeted that he should appeal for the maintenance of peace and harmony in the riot-hit areas. Did this merit the registration of an FIR by the police? The conspiracy clearly shows,” Mr. Mevani told journalists on Saturday.
Regarding the second case registered against him, he said the woman sub-inspector of police who lodged the FIR could have been under tremendous pressure from the government.
“The BJP wanted to harass me, but I do not feel harassed. Rather the country got the message that the BJP is targeting me for believing in the Constitution,” he stated, daring the government to arrest Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and others who fled the country after massive scams.
“My fight against Modiji, the RSS and the BJP will continue. I will fight for truth and for the people of Gujarat. There are protests going on in Gujarat. There is a jail bharo andolan programme across Gujarat tomorrow [Sunday],” he said.
He thanked the Assam Congress leaders and workers for supporting him. The constables of Assam police were “quite cooperative”, he added.
