In an exclusive interview to The Quint, Jignesh Mevani alleged that his life was under threat from BJP forces.
Calling the BJP a “fascist force” and making references to the deaths of Kalburgi, Dhabolkar, Vemula and the likes, the newly elected Gujarat MLA from Vadgam told The Quint that he often gets threat calls and his security too might be upgraded given the anticipated danger to his life.
When asked how he was so sure that the BJP was behind the threats, he said:
I am sure BJP is trying to get rid of me because they are insecure about my rising influence in Gujarat. They are shaken at the fact that Hardik, Alpesh and I could reduce their 3-digit hold in Gujarat to 2-digit.
He was speaking after the Yuva Hunkar Rally that was held in Delhi on 9 January. Former and current JNU student leaders – including Kanhaiya Kumar, Shehla Rashid and Umar Khalid, – Assam peasant leader Akhil Gogoi and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan were also a part of the rally which took place despite being denied police permission.
While empty chairs and a relatively low turnout was seen at the rally, Mevani said that he was satisfied with the number of people who turned up despite “attempts by police and media to spread rumours about the cancellation of the rally.”
The rally demanded the release of Dalit outfit Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad. There were also cries for support of Indian Constitution over Manusmriti and ensuring social justice for all.
A reporter from Republic TV, Shivani Gupta, alleged that she was mishandled and “heckled” at the rally where the editor-in-chief of her TV channel was criticised for “bias journalism”.
However, Mevani condemned such acts against any reporter and said the harassers should apologise for their misconduct.
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