Guwahati: Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, produced in a court in Assam's Kokrajhar today, alleged that his arrest was "vendetta politics and this is by PMO". The 41-year-old leader has been accused on a complaint by an Assam BJP leader over his tweets on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which have since been removed from the social media platform.
The surprise arrest by the Assam police took place last night in Gujarat's Palanpur. Mr Mewani has been charged with criminal conspiracy, offence related to place of worship, outraging religious feelings, and provocation that might lead to breach of peace. He was flown to Guwahati and produced at a city court in Kokrajhar.
While going into the courtroom with the police, Mr Mevani – an arch-critic of the Prime Minister -- in response to reporters' queries, said, "This is vendetta politics and this is by PMO". The court rejected his bail plea and placed him in police custody for three days.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he is unaware of the identity of Jignesh Mevani. Questioned about the arrest, Mr Sarma said, "I am not aware of the specifics of the case. Who will do vendetta politics when I don't know him?" reported news agency Press Trust of India.
In his complaint, BJP leader Arup Kumar Dey has alleged that Mr Mevani's tweet caused "widespread criticism" and "had the propensity to disturb public tranquility". "It is more likely to incite a section of the masses belonging to a certain community," the complaint added.
Pointing to the rush in which the case was filed and the arrest made, the Congress said the arrest was made with an eye to the coming assembly elections in Gujarat, a state the BJP has been ruling since 1995.
The complaint was filed within 24 hours of Mr Mevani's tweet and arrest made within another 24 hours of the First Information Report. The Assam police are yet to explain the urgency. Mr Dey, who is also a member of Bodoland Territorial Council, filed the complaint on April 19, citing the tweet by Mr Mevani.
Congress's Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Modi ji, you can try to crush dissent by abusing the state machinery. But you can never imprison the truth".
Angered over Mr Mevani's arrest, the Gujarat Congress leaders staged a demonstration near Sarangpur circle in the city and demanded his release.
Mr Mewani became the Independent MLA from Vadgam seat of Banaskantha in 2017 through Congress support. Though he is "ideologically" with the Congress at present, he has not officially joined the party. He has earlier said that he would fight the next elections as a Congress candidate.