BJP, RSS making childish attempts to tarnish my image, says Dalit activist Jignesh Mewani

NEW DELHI: Jignesh Mewani, the face of the Dalit agitation in Gujarat, has alleged that he is being targeted by the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after his victory in the Gujarat assembly elections.

"Members of Sangh Parivar and the BJP made a childish attempt to tarnish my image and target me. It is an after effect of the Gujarat results. It is also because they have a sense of fear about 2019 Lok Sabha elections," Mewani said.

The independent MLA from Vadgam claimed that no word of the speech in Pune, for which an FIR has been lodged against him, was provocative. "Not even a single word of my speech was inflammatory. I am just being targeted. No part of my speech was provocative or inflammatory," he added.

There are allegations that his speech during an event in Pune on December 31 was "provocative". The MLA denied allegations which say that he was involved in instigating violence, adding that he never went to Bhima Koregaon or participated in the shutdown in the state.