Karnataka elections: Is Jignesh Mevani a Congress' proxy? BJP alleges so

Now, the BJP has alleged that the Gujarat MLA, who is campaigning along with actor Prakash Raj against the saffron party in Karnataka, is a proxy of the Congress.

Bengaluru, April 7: Activist-turned-politician from Gujarat Jignesh Mevani on Friday created a lot of furore in poll-bound Karnataka after he urged youngsters to disrupt Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rallies in the state. Now, an FIR has been lodged against the Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed a police complaint against Mevani.

Police have registered an FIR acting on a complaint by BJP's Chitradurga district president KS Naveen. The saffron party has lodged another complaint with the Election Commission (EC) over Mevani's remarks, reported ANI.

In a press meet in Chitradurga, Mevani asked the youth of Karnataka to create ruckus at the PM's rallies as a mark of protest against the BJP government's failure to provide two crore jobs every year. During the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, the then chief minister of Gujarat Modi had told Indians that if the BJP comes to power then the saffron party will create two crore jobs every year.

"Biggest role of Karnataka's youth should be to enter PM's campaign program in Bengaluru on 15th, hurl chairs in the air and disrupt it, then ask him what happened to 2 crore jobs?" Mevani said. He added that if the PM can't answer, he should retire and go to the Himalayas.

Now, the BJP has alleged that the Gujarat MLA, who is campaigning along with actor Prakash Raj against the saffron party in Karnataka, is a proxy of the Congress. The BJP tweeted that Mevani whose campaign has been funded by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is in talks with the Congress to form an alliance in Karnataka.

To prove its point, the BJP posted two pictures along with the tweet. In the first picture, Mevani was seen taking a cheque for his election campaign from the SDPI leaders. In the next image, SDPI leaders were seen with the Karnataka Congress leaders.

"Connect these dots, SDPI funds Mewani election campaign. Cong Chief in K'taka says he's in talks with SDPI over alliance. Mewani lands in K'taka to instigate violence. How integrated & seamless the Congress-Tukde gang works!" tweeted BJP.

Although Mevani is yet to react to the allegations of him being a "proxy" of the Congress, the Dalit leader has alleged that "goons" from the BJP tried to disrupt his Chitradurga rally. In a tweet, he questioned why no FIR has been filed against the BJP goons in Karnataka and those who killed Dalits during the recent Dalit protests in various parts of the country.

Recently, the Election Commission (EC) announced the polling and counting dates for Karnataka. While the polling for the 224-member Legislative Assembly will take place on May 12, the counting of votes will be held on May 15 in the southern state.