Gujarat Assembly polls: Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani refutes media reports of meeting Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani has termed as “wrong” reports that he is going to meet Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday. He also said that even if he meets Gandhi, it will be to know the Congress’ stand on issues of the Dalit community and not for his own “personal gains”. In a Facebook post shared on Tuesday amid speculation about his possible meeting with the Congress leader, Mevani said, “I request media friends that please do not share this wrong news that I am going to meet Rahul Gandhi today(Tuesday).”

“Even if I meet Rahul Gandhi or any other leader, it will not be for my personal gain but to know Congress’ stand on the issues of Dalit communities on which the BJP government in the state is not ready to talk. Why shall I meet anyone secretly?” he said in the post. The Congress also said there was no plan yet for a meeting between Mevani and Gandhi during the latter’s three-day campaign tour of the state from Wednesday. “As far as the Congress is concerned, there is no such plan of Mevani meeting Gandhi,” party spokesperson Manish Doshi said. Notably, Kshatriya-Rajput community leader Alpesh Thakor has lent his support to the Congress ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections in December. Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel, who has put forward a set of demands before the Congress as a pre-condition for extending support to the party in the upcoming state polls, has asked it to make its stand clear on how it would ensure reservation for the community.