Jignesh Mevani, who led the Dalit Asmita Yatra to protest against the Una flogging incident, has resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Activist Jignesh Mevani, a face of 'Dalit Asmita Yatra' in Gujarat, resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday.
According to Times of India, his resignation comes after a series of allegations were levelled by the BJP, Dalit rights activists and NGOs that the protest over Una incident was driven by AAP.
"I have resigned from AAP as people of the BJP, some Dalit rights activists and NGOs had started a negative campaign against the Dalit agitation just because of my AAP membership," Mevani said.
Mevani also stated that he knows the BJP will suffer because of these yatras and that it should suffer. "It was under BJP that Dalits suffered most. It is under their rule that atrocities against socially-backward communities have increased sharply. Cow vigilante groups are a gift of Modi," he said at a press conference. "I want to preserve the sanctity of the movement we've just started. We don't want the movement to suffer because of my association with any party," he added.
Demanding justice for their community following the Una flogging incident, hundreds of Dalits and members of various civil rights organisations participated the 'Dalit Asmita Yatra', a foot march that was undertaken from Ahmedabad to Una town of Gir Somnath district.
On July 11, four Dalit youths were beaten up by cow vigilantes at Mota Samadhiyala village in Una taluka when they were allegedly skinning a dead cow. Though the youths pleaded that they were from the skinner community, the gau-rakshaks' thrashed them alleging that they were involved in cow slaughter.
The idea of the foot march from Ahmedabad to Una was floated by former IPS officer Rahul Sharma at a mass gathering of Dalits held in the city on July 31.
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