Gujarat neta to take dalit agitation to Rajasthan

Jignesh Mevani, the face of dalit assertion in Gujarat after leading the protest against the Una atrocity a few months back, has now set his eyes on Rajasthan.

Mr Mevani, who was here to participate in one day protest of Aruna Roy’s Suchna Evam Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan, is planning to start agitation against Manu’s statue in the Rajasthan high court in Jaipur. Though earlier he has said that dalit politics should have progressed beyond the “Manuwadi Murdabad” kind of sloganeering, but in Rajasthan, he is going to start with the Manu issue.

According to him, “Rajasthan is the only state having a Manu statue at the high court premises. We will organise an agitation to burn Manu Smriti as a token of protest and will demand that the government removes the statue from the court premises as Manu, on the basis of his writings, is considered to be anti-woman,” said Mr Mevani. “Though the date is yet to be decided, but it will be held next month,” he added.

Mr Mevani also challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi that if he really has a 56-inch chest and if he is a true follower of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, than he should prove it by removing Manu’s statue from the Rajasthan high court premises.

He also attacked the BJP government in Rajasthan for increasing cases of dalit atrocities. “The state government’s attitude is not right towards dalits. The chief minister has cheated the community,” he said.