Politics of love vs 'Love jihad': Will celebrate Valentine's Day, says Mevani
THE ASIAN AGE / PTI
Published : Jan 9, 2018, 6:55 pm IST Updated : Jan 10, 2018, 7:38 am IST
Mevani termed the refusal to grant permission to the 'Yuva Hunkar' rally as an example of 'Gujarat model' of politics.
Dalit leader and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani during Youth Hunkar rally in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)
New
Delhi: The Narendra Modi government poses a "threat" to the country's
democracy and Constitution, Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani said on Tuesday at a youth rally for which the Delhi Police had refused permission.
The
newly-elected MLA from Vadgam in Gujarat termed the refusal to grant
permission to the 'Yuva Hunkar' rally in Parliament Street an example of
the "Gujarat model" of politics.
"The 125
crore people of this country are watching that someone is not being
allowed to speak for merely demanding the release of Chandrashekhar
Azad, effective implementation of the Constitution and two crore jobs to
the youth. If an elected representative does not have the right to do
so, then this is Gujarat model," Mevani said to loud cheers from a crowd
comprising student activists from Delhi, Lucknow and Allahabad among
other places.
The rally -- held in Parliament
Street in the heart of the national capital where prohibitory orders are
in force through the year -- was demanding the release of Dalit outfit
Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad.
The
gathering also sought to emphasise issues like educational rights,
employment, livelihood and gender justice. Mevani said he will stand
guard against the politics of hatred and stick to constitutional values
and the "politics of
love", along the lines of statements made by Congress President Rahul Gandhi after the Gujarat polls.
"I
believe in politics of unity. I believe in politics of love, not love
jihad. Alpesh Thakore, Hardik Patel and I are being targeted because we
demolished their (BJP) pride and arrogance in Gujarat..There's a looming
threat to our democracy and Constitution today," he said.
"We
are not supporters of love jihad, we are 'pyaar ishq muhabbat'
supporters, and therefore, we will celebrate Valentine's Day as well,"
Jignesh Mevani said.
Although authorities had
maintained till the last minute that Mevani and his supporters did not
have permission to hold the event, it seems the rally organisers and
Delhi Police reached a compromise later.
Read: No permission yet, but Jignesh Mevani's Delhi rally to go ahead per plan
The rally, which began around 1 pm,
saw a modest turnout. Former and current JNU student leaders, including
Kanhaiya Kumar, Shehla Rashid and Umar Khalid were present on the
stage, metres away from the Parliament Street Police
Station.
Assam
farmers leader Akhil Gogoi and senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant
Bhushan were also present, apart from students from JNU, Delhi
University, Lucknow University and Allahabad University among others.
Azad
(30) was arrested in June last year from Himachal Pradesh as he is the
main accused in Thakur-Dalit clashes in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur
district. His supporters turned up with posters bearing his image.
