Congress General Secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh (East) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today met Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad who is admitted in a hospital in Meerut. The self-proclaimed Dalit leader was arrested by Deoband police for allegedly violating the model code of conduct by taking out the Bahujan Hunkar rally. He was admitted to a hospital in Meerut after he fell sick.
Meerut: Congress General Secretary for UP (East) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra meets Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar who is undergoing treatment at a hospital. pic.twitter.com/e4QPUJolzW
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Bhim Army’s Hunkar rally was flagged off on March 11 and was supposed to culminate in Delhi at Jantar Mantar on March 15. Chandrashekhar was expected to mobilise the rally in Muzaffarnagar on Tuesday but he was detained by the police in Deoband. It is rumoured that Priyanka offered a Lok Sabha ticket to Chandrashekhar to contest from Nagina constituency.
Police have ordered action against Bhim Army workers and officials for taking out the rally despite the model code of conduct being in place. Police said that no rally or march could be taken out without prior permission as the model code of conduct was in force. Police is checking the CCTV footage to find where the rally actually started from so that the jurisdiction can be ascertained and a case can be filed. A report has been filed for the time being in Deoband police station against Chandrashekhar and others.
Bhim Army which claims to fight for Dalit rights said that it was not a political party but a social organisation and neither Chandrashekhar Azad was contesting any election, therefore the rally did not violate the model code of conduct. It questioned the authority of the police to grant permission for holding the rally and said that since the model code of conduct was in place, Magistrate was the only competent authority to grant the permission.
Chandrashekhar had announced a few days ago that his organisation would be supporting candidates who would be contesting against PM Modi and Union Minister Smriti Irani. He had also reportedly claimed that he would make sure that PM modi lost the election from Varanasi and that he would himself contest against the PM if the SP-BSP failed to field a strong candidate against him.
Chandrashekhar Azad along with other Bhim Army workers started shouting slogans of “vote hamara, raj tumhara nahi chalega nahi chalega” and jammed the Saharanpur-Muzaffarnagar highway as the police took him into custody. He even used derogatory language against PM Modi.
“They want us to sit quietly. But we are not slaves. We are free and will fight for our rights. Let them take us to jail or anywhere else. We will carry our fight ahead and on March 15, a sea of blue (the colour of the Bhim Army flag) will flood Delhi.” Chandrashekhar said.
