The Congress staged a demonstration in Assam on Friday in front of the police station where Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani is being jailed after being arrested in his home state over a tweet criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was placed in police detention for three days by a court in Kokrajhar on Thursday, after his bail application was denied.
Following a complaint by a BJP politician from the Northeast state that the MLA had reportedly tweeted that Modi “regarded Godse as God,” Mevani, an independent MLA who promised allegiance to the Congress in September, was arrested by Assam police in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district.
The demonstration was attended by party representatives from Kokrajhar, Dhubri Chirang, and Bongaigaon districts, according to state Congress spokesperson Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee. “We went to meet him, but not everyone was given permission,” he explained.
The demonstration lasted almost three hours.
“Over his illegitimate detention, we raised chants,” Bhattacharjee stated, adding, “The entire procedure is unconstitutional…
“Such a severe penalty for a single tweet.”
Akhil Gogoi, a Sivasagar MLA who ran as an independent in the Assembly election, was also present at the rally. “Today at Kokrajhar Police Station, I met @jigneshmevani80. He’s in a cheerful mood and a fighting frame of mind. Gogoi tweeted, “He doesn’t appear tense at all.”
After his detention time finishes on Sunday, Mevani will be brought before the court. “He will be produced in the judicial magistrate’s chamber because today is a holiday,” Manoj Bhagawati, chairman of the Congress’s legal cell and Mevani’s counsel, said.
“We’re currently thinking about the next steps.” We may apply for bail in the Gauhati High Court,” Bhagawati said, adding that some Delhi-based lawyers will likely go to Assam to represent the young MLA. He also said that when he first met Mevani, she was “mentally powerful” and “ready to fight.”
