Jignesh Mevani, Independent MLA from Gujarat’s Vadagam
constituency and a Dalit leader, was arrested on Wednesday night by the Assam
police and moved to Assam Thursday morning. The 41-year-old lawyer-turned-politician
with ties but no formal links to the Congress was arrested on the basis of a
complaint filed by a BJP leader on his tweets about Prime Minister Narendra
Modi. Mevani was arrested from a Circuit House in Gujarat’s Palampur at around
11:30 pm.

The complaint against Mevani was filed by Arup Kumar
Dey, a BJP leader from Assam’s Kokrajhar. The First Information Report (FIR)
relates lists offences related to criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between
communities and causing intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of
peace and sections of the Information Technology Act.

Also Read | ‘Quockerwodger’: Tharoor’s latest head-scratcher

Suresh Jat, who works closely with Mevani, said, “As
per a document shared by the officials of the Assam police, an FIR has been
lodged over a tweet by Mevani few days back. However, the tweet has been withheld
by Twitter. It was about Nathuram Godse. Mevani was first brought to Ahmedabad
by road and then taken to Assam by air early today morning,” reports PTI.

As soon as news of Mevani’s arrest spread, Gujarat
Congress leaders, including state president Jagdish Thakor, rushed to the
airport and shouted slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
government. They alleged that the police refused to show and FIR or provide a
reason for the arrest.

Also Read | BJP leaders blame Congress for Hubballi riots

Jignesh Mevani was elected an Independent MLA in 2017
riding on a wave of Dalit resistance against caste-based violence in Gujarat
and other parts of India. Last year, Mevani extended support to the Congress
and was also set to join the grand old party along with former Jawaharlal Nehru
University students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar. He later decided to join
the party once his term as MLA was complete. Mevani is expected to contest the
upcoming Assembly elections on a Congress ticket.