Jignesh Mavani, the Dalit youth leader and Independent MLA from Gujarat’s Vadgam constituency was suspended from the Gujarat State Assembly by speaker Rajendra Trivedi for “indiscipline” and “disrespecting” the Chair. He was suspended from the three day winter session on Monday after he opposed a resolution moved by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to show the House’s commitment to spread the values of the Indian Constitution by celebrating November 26 as Constitution Day.
What transpired was that Deputy CM Nitin Patel was speaking on the resolution when he mentioned that idea of celebrating Constitution Day was first put forth by PM Modi when he was the CM of Gujarat. He mentioned how PM Modi had then taken out the ‘Sanman yatra’ in 2010 and proceeded to emphasize on how much the BJP believed in the Constitution of India.
It was then that Mevani retorted saying, “… and then you fired fired bullets on Dalits in Thanagadh.” He was referring to the 2012 incident when three Dalits were killed in police firing in the Thanagadh town of Surendranagar district (where the Sanman Yatra was held earlier).
Speaker Rajendra Trivedi then asked Mevani not to violate the proceedings and disrupt the discipline of the House. He also told Mevani that his speech would be expunged from the records of the Assembly, but Mevani continued to speak and accused the BJP saying, “Those who did not give justice to Thanagadh and other victims and who earlier talked of throwing Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution into the sea are now celebrating Constitution Day just for the sake of celebrating. You all do not believe in the Constitution, but Manusmriti.”
The Speaker then warned Mevani of action saying that he would have to suspend him for his indiscipline, Mevani said, “I feel proud to get suspended on this day.” Following the Speaker’s orders, he was taken out of the Assembly by the marshals.
Gujarat Vidhansabha’s speaker suspended me today for three-days for calling the @vijayrupanibjp government a follower of ‘Manusmriti’, and not the Constitution.
I am proud to be suspended while supporting the Constitution.
— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) December 9, 2019
Opposition leaders said that since Mevani was a first-time MLA, his suspension could only last a day. However, at the behest of the CM and senior ministers of the BJP, the Speaker did not allow the same and said that the duration of the suspension would be re-considered if Mevani tendered an apology.
However, refusing to apologise, Mevani put out the following video regarding his stance on the matter.
इस विडियो का दूसरा भाग : pic.twitter.com/5U7llHmcvu
— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) December 9, 2019
Later speaking to news agencies he accused the BJP of bulldozing his efforts to speak in the Assembly. He told IANS, “The ruling BJP and the Speaker appointed by it are just not letting me speak. It is my right and my duty as a legislator representing the people of my constituency to speak on their issues. But the Speaker has turned down my right to speak. It has been three years since the shameful act of Una where Dalit youth were flogged on pretext of cow slaughter. I wanted to tell the House about its status. Moreover, I wanted to speak on various several other instances of caste discrimination and hate crime committed in the state. But the Speaker won’t let me.”
He also said that the Speaker rejected the Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani’s request allowing him to speak in lieu of the Congress’s time in the House.
Jignesh Mevani has been a vocal critic of the BJP government and has come under fire many times for his stance against the ruling party which he claims to be anti-Dalit. Saying that only those who follow the ideals of Ambedkar have the right to talk about the Constitution, he accused the government of being casteist and callous with regards to the issues of the community. His current suspension from the House is just another example of how and allegedly caste-supremacist BJP leaves no stone unturned in drowning out dissent.