Youth Congress protests Jignesh Mevani's arrest

New Delhi: Youth Congress on Wednesday protested the arrest of Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani by Assam police and demanded his release.

The protesters wanted to march towards Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence but were stopped.

Srinivas BV, National President of Indian Youth Congress, said Mevani's arrest is illegal.

The Assam police should have informed the Speaker of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly about any such arrest on prior basis before arresting the MLA, but he was not even informed, which is against the rules, Srinivas BV said.

"In BJP's New India, the rapists, accused are protected and the leaders who raise the voice of the people are attacked. India will not be afraid of BJP's dictatorship, India will fight," he alleged.

He alleged that the state machinery is being used to suppress individual's liberty and freedom of expression.

"No matter how hard the government tries, it cannot suppress the voice of truth," he alleged.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Assam's Barpeta district on Tuesday rejected the bail petition of Mevani, and sent him to five-day police custody, a day after he was re-arrested by the Assam police on different charges, including "outraging the modesty of a woman police officer".

Mevani was re-arrested soon after the CJM's court in Kokrajhar district granted him bail, six days after he was arrested by Assam police from his home state in Gujarat in connection with an "objectionable" tweet against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mevani's lawyer Angshuman Bora told IANS over phone that they would decide on Wednesday whether the bail petition would be moved to a higher court.