Jaipur, April 15: Independent legislator from Gujarat, Jignesh Mevani, was 'detained' at the Jaipur airport where he landed earlier on Sunday. The Dalit leader was scheduled to deliver a lecture on Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar's political philosophy in Nagaur district of Rajasthan.
Mevani claims the police not only prevented him from visiting Nagaur, but also restricted his movement in Jaipur. "They are forcing me to fly back to Ahmedabad and also not allowing to hold even a press conference," the Vadgam MLA said.
"Immediately after I landed at Jaipur airport, few cops made me sign a letter saying MLA Jignesh Mevani's entry is restricted in entire Nagaur district of Rajasthan. I was going there to talk about the Indian Constitution and Baba Saheb Ambedkar," he added.
The Jaipur DCP, Mevani claims, told him that strict orders have been issued to prevent his movement in the state. "He is saying 'upar se bola hai'... As per law, this is a case of legally confining me, if not kidnapping. Shame," he further said.
Training his guns at the Vasundhara Raje government in the state, Mevani asked whether the same treatment would had been meted out to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, if he was scheduled to deliver a lecture on "Manusmriti".
If Bhagwat was going at Nagor district of Rajasthan to talk about Manusmriti, Raje would have allowed him. But since I was supposed to talk about the philosophy of baba Saheb Ambedkar they are restricting my movements. Vasundhara ji, hamara bhi vada raha chunav me maza ayenga..
— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) April 15, 2018
"Few months ago BJP MP (Ananth Kumar) Hegde shamelessly said that their party has come to power to change Constitution. No action taken. Today authorities have passed order restricting my entry to participate in any demonstration at Jaipur till 30th April. Because, I was scheduled to talk about the Constitution," the 37-year-old activist-cum-politician said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 15, 2018 04:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).