Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Friday met Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani in Navsari district of poll-bound Gujarat. The two leaders then took part in the Congress’ Navsarjan Yatra.
“Rahul Gandhi said 90% of our demands are not demands, but our constitutional rights,” Mevani, the convenor of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, told reporters after his meeting. Gandhi told Mevani that the demands proposed by the community will be included in the Congress party’s election manifesto.
On Thursday, Mevani had said that he would meet Gandhi only if the Congress is ready to discuss its stand on the various demands put forth by the Dalit community. He had categorically denied joining any political party, including the Congress.
Earlier on Friday, Gandhi said the Assembly elections in Gujarat was a fight between truth and lies. “On one side, it is Gujarat’s people, on the other some industrialists,” Gandhi said addressing a gathering in Gujarat’s Pardi, according to IANS. “Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party have everything, they have power in many states. They have power in the central government, in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. They have a lot of power, they have the police. But the Congress party will win in Gujarat, because truth is with us.”
The Congress leader further said that all communities in Gujarat were agitating against the ruling BJP government, including the Patidars, Dalits, Adivasis and the farmers.
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