Arvind Kejriwal to attend meet in Levad

In a move aimed at silencing criticism that the Anna Hazare movement against corruption is anti-Congress and pro-BJP, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal will be attending a Gram Swaraj Sammelan at Levad in Dahegam on June 29.

Kejriwal, who will be visiting the state on June 29, will hold a press conference in Ahmedabad after which he will go to Mahatma Mandir. From there a vehicle rally will be taken out to Dahegam via Chiloda.

Dinesh Vaghela, member of ‘India Against Corruption’ (IAC) core committee, said Kejriwal will address the Gram Swaraj Sammelan at Levad. In Levad, villagers had protested against the government decision to give away gauchar land to the Raksha Shakti University.

“The movement will raise voice against the trend of land belonging to the panchayats being taken away by force. In Gujarat, it is the government that issues orders for calling a gram sabha when, in fact, this should be the prerogative of the panchayat and the people,” said Vaghela.

Leader of the gram swaraj movement, Ushaben Pandit, said that the Sammelan will see protestors and participants of several other such movements.

“This includes victims of unlawful land acquisition in various parts of the state, including Jamnagar, Kutch and Mahuva. Our protest is non-violent but the government should understand that development that benefits 10-15% of the population should not come at the cost of the rest of the population,” said Pandit.

On whether Kanubhai Kalsariya will be present at the sammelan, Vaghela said Kalsariya won’t be able to attend because of his nephew’s wedding. “But those who participated in the Mahuva protest will be there,” said Vaghela.

On the Levad protest, Pandit said that of the 525 acre of gauchar land with the panchayat, 235 acre was given to Raksh Shakti University while the rest was given to former army men.

“Now the panchayat is left with a mere 78 acre of land for 4500 cattle,” said Pandit.