Congress, Akhil Gogoi, Hiren Gohain raise demand of release of Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani

April 22: A huge protest was led by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Friday in front of Kokrajhar Sadar Police Station demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani. The prominent Dalit leader from Gujarat was arrested by Assam Police from Palanpur circuit House in Gujarat late Wednesday night over a tweet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and brought to Assam’s Kokrajhar. He was sent to 3-day police custody by a local court in Kokrajhar on Friday.

Sivasagar MLA and Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi met the arrested MLA at Kokrajhar police station on Friday and raised the demand of his immediate release. Gogoi termed the arrest of MLA Mevani as ‘as political conspiracy’ and stated that the BJP intentionally got Mevani arrested as he was vocal against their wrong-doing.

Meanwhile, on Friday, eminent intellectual Hiren Gohain in a press statement expressed “surprised by the excessive action of the Assam Police in arresting legislator Jignesh Mewani from far-off Gujarat for a bitter critical comment on the Prime Minister on the complaint of someone from Assam.” He added that the Assam Police appears to be acting like an immature teenager who takes offence at anything that displeases him. Hiren Gohain too urged immediate release of Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani.

Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani was arrested by Assam Police from Palanpur town in Gujarat on Wednesday night over a tweet and taken to Assam by air on Thursday. The Dalit leader was apprehended from Palanpur town in Gujarat on Wednesday night after a First Information Report under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act was filed at the Kokrajhar police station. Arup Kumar Dey, a BJP leader from Kokrajhar in Assam, had filed a complaint against him. The First Information Report, or FIR, lists charges like criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between communities, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace and sections of the Information Technology Act.

Mevani had won as an Independent MLA from the Vadgam (scheduled caste) seat in Banaskantha district in the 2017 assembly election with Congress support. He had earlier said he would fight the next assembly election as a Congress candidate.