Patan: Why Did Congress Workers Protest Against Jignesh Mevani? Inside The Factional Feud Over SC Morcha Appointments
Ahmedabad: Internal discord and opposition within Gujarat’s Congress organization have once again surfaced publicly.
According to information received, Congress workers on Monday afternoon staged a protest against Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani, raising slogans and locking the district Congress office in Patan.
Reports indicate that local Congress workers and leaders accused Jignesh Mevani of orchestrating the appointment of Jayaben Shah as president of the district Congress Scheduled Caste Morcha. Following this appointment, considerable anger was witnessed among local Congress leaders and workers.
However, Jignesh Mevani declined to comment on the matter. On the other hand, Patan Congress MLA Kirit Patel termed it “dissatisfaction of dedicated Congress workers against arbitrary appointments.”
What was the entire controversy?
On Monday afternoon, former president of Patan District Congress Scheduled Caste Morcha, Hasmukhbhai Saxena, along with his supporters, staged a demonstration at the district Congress office. During the program, they leveled allegations of “neglect” and “arbitrary appointments” against Jignesh Mevani, Gujarat Congress Scheduled Caste Morcha state chairman Hitendra Pithadiya, and the party leadership.
They alleged that when they approached with a delegation of 50 Scheduled Caste members from Patan district to demand the continuation of the existing district Congress Scheduled Caste Morcha panel, their demands were dismissed.
They alleged, “Hitendra Pithadiya told us that only the name chosen by us and our guru, Jignesh Mevani, will prevail across Patan district and Gujarat’s Dalit community.”
Besides this, they accused Jignesh Mevani, stating, “We sought time to meet Jignesh Mevani, but instead of listening to our request, he said he does not want to meet anyone from Patan district’s Dalit Morcha and will not meet them.”
“Jignesh challenged me saying, ‘No one can change the person I have chosen, but I will show even those Congress MLAs who have written letters in support of Hasmukh Saxena how they will win in the upcoming assembly elections.'”
A local journalist from Patan district said regarding the entire matter, “Hasmukh Saxena alleges that he submitted letters of support from current and former MLAs of the state to get his panel repeated for Patan District Scheduled Caste Morcha, yet Jayaben Shah was appointed in his place. However, Hasmukhbhai stated he has no objection to Jayaben’s name, but her appointment should have been made with his consent.”
Hasmukh Saxena’s supporters gathered in large numbers at the district Congress office and raised slogans against Hitendra Pithadiya and Jignesh Mevani.
However, rejecting the allegations against Jignesh Mevani, social activist and Jignesh supporter Gautam Chhatralia termed this entire episode not as “opposition from the Dalit community against Jignesh” but rather as “an attempt to obstruct his continuously growing popularity.”
He stated, “Jignesh Mevani has no role whatsoever in the entire episode. The current opposition is happening at the behest of the BJP. It appears they are bothered by Jignesh Mevani’s popularity. The talk of opposition from the Dalit community against Jignesh Mevani is completely baseless; two or four people joining hands with his opponents are currently spreading this narrative.”
“If we look now, the entire Dalit and Bakshipanch community is with Jignesh. The work he has done has received people’s support. These people are feeling threatened by Jignesh Mevani’s progress. Therefore, one can imagine which team these people belong to. He is currently the working president of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, so such conspiracies are being created district-wise by such people to ensure he does not continue in this position.”
What did Patan MLA Kirit Patel say?
Patan district MLA Kirit Patel, reacting to Monday’s incident, said, “For quite some time in Patan district, dedicated Congress workers are being sidelined and preference is being given to Congress’s broken cannons. Arbitrary appointments have been made without knowing the opinion of Congress MLAs, former MLAs, district president and taluka presidents of the district, due to which dedicated Congress workers are upset.”
He further stated, “Rahul Gandhi said in his meeting that henceforth the Congress district president will be supreme. The result of appointments being made frequently of those who engage in anti-party activities without informing such district presidents and taluka presidents has been witnessed at the Patan district office.”
Kirit Patel added, “Workers are very upset and angry about this. In the coming time, if there is fierce opposition and those who encourage broken cannons are not.