'I don't know. Who is he?': Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma after Jignesh Mevani's arrest

After the arrest of Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani by the Assam Police over a tweet, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday claimed that he was not aware of Mevani's identity.

Sarma, responding to a mediaperson's query on the sidelines of a programme, claimed that he was not aware of who Mevani was.

"I don't know. Who is he?" Sarma sought to know when asked for his reaction to the arrest.

"I am not aware," the chief minister added.

Mevani was apprehended from Palanpur town in Gujarat on Wednesday night after a First Information Report (FIR) under various sections of the IPC and the IT Act was filed in Kokrajhar Police Station.

He was flown to Guwahati from Gujarat on Thursday morning and then taken to Korajhar by road.

According to the FIR that led to Mevani's apprehension, he had purportedly written a tweet, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "considered Godse as God".

The independent MLA from Vadgam seat in Banaskantha had used the same tweet to also urge Modi to appeal for communal harmony during his visit to the Gujarat, the FIR at Kokrajhar Police Station, said.

Meanwhile, flaying the arrest, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi termed it as "undemocratic" and "unconstitutional".

Gandhi said it was an insult to the people who elected him as a public representative.

The state Congress unit smelt a conspiracy behind the arrest and rushed legal experts to the aid of the apprehended Dalit leader, who has recently pledged his support to the grand old party.

(With PTI inputs)

Published on: Thursday, April 21, 2022, 08:47 PM IST