The Congress will stage demonstrations in all the district headquarters in Assam during Thursday’s visit to the state by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, protesting the “illegal” arrest of party-backed Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani.
Mevani, arrested in Gujarat by an Assam police team on April 20 over a tweet on Modi that referred to Nathuram Godse, got bail on April 25 but was immediately rearrested for allegedly outraging a policewoman’s modesty on April 21.
Assam Congress general secretary (administration) Apurba Bhattacharjee has told all district unit presidents to organise sit-ins from 11am to 1pm at headquarter towns. Apart from Mevani’s arrest, the Congress will be protesting the “curbing (of) our fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression”.
State Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur said the party’s legal team would on Thursday apply for bail for Mevani in the sessions court in Barpeta. She said she and Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah would participate in Thursday’s protests in Barpeta.
