Jignesh Mevani: Modi govt threat to democracy; No freedom to speak

Gujarat, Jan 09: On Tuesday, Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani at a youth rally-'Yuva Hunkaar' said that Narendra Modi government poses a threat to the country's democracy and Constitution. Before the rally started Mewani said that he will ask Modi to choose between manusmriti and the Constitution.

Delhi Police had refused permission for this rally and Mewani termed this as 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 a crowd comprising student activists from Delhi, Lucknow and Allahabad among other places.

Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) student leader, including Kanhaiya Kumar, Shehla Rashid and umar Khalid, were present on 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.