On 1st January, parts of Maharashtra were thrown in a turmoil when it was reported that violence had erupted during the 200th celebration of British East India Company over an army led by Peshwa Baji Rao II, which has been spun by alternate historians as a victory of Dalits over Brahmins.
The ‘celebrations’ had in fact been an annual affair and never saw any violence earlier, but participation of controversial Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani and JNU student of ‘anti-national slogans fame’ Umar Khalid this year seems to have flared up the tensions. Soon reports emerged, where Mevani was seen inciting people by asking them to ‘fight in the streets’.
Following these leads, Maharashtra police booked cases against Mevani, in response to which Mevani decided to hold a press conference. However, this press conference has further raised more questions than it has answered.
A person named Alankar Sawai, who is known to be an aide of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, was spotted during Mevani’s press conference, allegedly propping Mevani with some answers. When a Republic TV reporter spotted him and sought to question his presence, he literally ran away:
#CongSponsorsJignesh | Sensational: Rahul’s man on the run. Watch the full chase sequence here – https://t.co/0N1EkHleZd pic.twitter.com/D0YP449dk9
— Republic (@republic) January 5, 2018
As seen above, Sawai runs away and doesn’t answer if he was sent by Rahul Gandhi to help Jignesh Mevani. In the video, he is though heard explaining to a bystander that he had come to ‘check’ the press conference.
In the full video put up on Republic TV’s website, Sawai is seen breaking into a run, with the channel’s reporter desperately trying to keep up. Sawai finally managed to escape after successfully escaping in an auto-rickshaw.
The suspicious behaviour of Sawai does raise a few questions, but what is almost confirmed is the fact that Sawai indeed belongs to the close inner circle of Rahul Gandhi.
If one goes through these three media reports, his identity and association with Rahul Gandhi becomes clear:
- Meet Rahul Gandhi’s Backroom Boys Who’ll Help Him Run the Show [link]
- The men who matter in the new team of Rahul Gandhi 2.0 [link]
- The Universe of Rahul Gandhi [link]
All these three articles mention Sawai as a former ICICI bank employee who used to look after Rahul Gandhi’s social media team before Divya Spandana took over.
So why was Sawai present at the press conference and more importantly why was he so desperate to run away when cornered? Considering he is such a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, was he directed by the Congress President himself to go and be present at the press conference? Does it indicate that Mevani is working more closely with Congress than what meets the eye?
Also, was this whole violence and subsequent drama in Maharashtra scripted and outsourced by the highest power of the Congress party? And why was it that Sawai’s presence was noted and followed only by Republic TV, despite a heavy media presence at the press club? Is that the reason why JIgnesh Mevani assaulted Republic TV journalist?
