Student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani are set to join the Congress today. Congress general secretary (organization) KC Venugopal and Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel are also likely to be present when Kumar and Mevani join the Congress. Rahul Gandhi is likely to be present with them at ITO.
Here are some details about Jignesh Mevani:
· Jignesh Mevani (alternatively Mewani; born 11 December 1980) is a lawyer-activist and former journalist serving as the representative of the Vadgam constituency in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. He is an independent legislator and the convener of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch.
·
Hailing
from a Dalit family, Mevani is perceived as a leader for Dalit rights. He
spearheaded the protest march called Dalit Asmita Yatra from Ahmedabad to Una
following the deadly attack on Dalit men in Una village by so-called “Gau
Rakshaks.” The march culminated with 20,000 Dalits attending the protest,
including a Dalit woman, who vowed to give up jobs of removing cow carcasses.
· A skillful orator with degrees in English and law, Mevani quotes revolutionary socialist Karl Marx and Ambedkar in one sentence, while rattling out facts and figures from the right to information (RTI) petitions and court cases he has filed.
· Mevani’s expertise on Dalit issues and oratorical skills are drawing huge crowds wherever he travels, making speeches and talking to people.
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· Mevani has also worked with Bharatsinh Zala, an RTI activist who has campaigned on farmer suicides in the state. He also joined noted late Gandhian Chunibhai Vaidya who fought for farmers’ rights and accompanied him to many rural areas.
· In April 2021, Mevani raised the issue of postponement of offline secondary and higher secondary boards examination in Gujarat, stating that Central Board of Secondary Education has cancelled its offline examinations but the education department is continuing it and risking the lives of students
· There is speculation that Congress could give Kumar a role in Bihar state Congress and Mevani in Gujarat, which will go for polls by the end of next year.