Dalit activist detained in Junagadh, as Modi arrives in city for poll campaign

By A Representative
Bharata Parmar, a Saurashtra-based Dalit rights leader close to well-known Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, who is an independent MLA, has been detained ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving in Junagadh to address an election rally. Bringing this to light, Mevani has claimed, Parmar has been detained because he has been highlighting half-dozen local issues agitating the people.
The issues include investigation into Rs 50-crore scam involving Bantwa Khara dam in Manavadar taluka of Junagadh district, failure to pay Rs 5.99 crore to four villages adjacent to Bantwa, which were submerged, despite a 2015 court order, and refusal to make public the official report in the massacre of four youth seven years ago.

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