FIRs filed against me in blatant disregard for rule of law: MLA Mevani

A day after securing bail, Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani said here on Saturday that FIRs were filed against him in Assam in a "blatant disregard for the rule of law".

Addressing a press conference here, Mevani also said that his arrest was nothing short of a message given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP, RSS and the Assam government to the people of the state, warning them of action for dissent.

"The FIRs were filed in blatant disregard of rule of law. It is an insult meted out to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution.

"If an MLA from another state could be arrested by the Assam Police, any dissenter in the northeastern state could also be easily crushed," the Dalit leader claimed

He said that he had immense respect for the judiciary, which said that "there was no reason for filing an FIR against me and it was not maintainable in the court".

The government wanted to "crush my spirit and confidence but it made no difference to me. Any number of FIRs can be filed against me but I will not move an inch from my stand," Mevani asserted.

The Congress-supported MLA was granted bail on Friday by a Barpeta court in a case of an alleged assault filed against him by a woman police officer.

He was earlier arrested from Palanpur in Gujarat in the wake of a complaint in Kokrajhar for a purported tweet against the PM.

Shortly after getting bail in the tweet-related case, Mevani was rearrested in Barpeta in connection with assault case.

The legislator is set to return Gujarat, having completed all legal formalities.