Proud to Support Constitution: Mevani On Suspension From Assembly
Mevani told the House “you all believe in Manusmriti, not the Constitution.”
“I am proud to be suspended while supporting the Constitution,” said Dalit leader and independent MLA Jignesh Mevani in response to his three-day suspension from the Gujarat Assembly on Monday, 10 December.
Speaker Rajendra Trivedi took action against Mevani for “indiscipline” after the 39-year-old leader interjected during a discussion on the celebration of Constitution Day.
Taking part in the discussion, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel mentioned about ‘Sanman Yatra’ held in 2010 in Surendranagar when Narendra Modi was the state Chief Minister.
To that, Mevani retorted, “and then you fired bullets on Dalits in Thangadh (in 2012).” He was referring to the death of three Dalits in Thangadh town of Surendranagar district in a police firing.
The MLA from Vadgam further told the treasury benches pointedly that “you all believe in Manusmriti, not the Constitution.” Manusmriti is an ancient Hindu religious legal text which sanctifies the caste system.
Govt Incapable of Understanding Constitution, Says Mevani
In a series of tweets, the Gujarat MLA said the Vijay Rupani-led government did not understand the Constitution.
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