New Delhi: Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Friday said that the Bhima-Koregaon violence can recur if the Constitution is tampered with. Azad was addressing a Hunkar rally in the national capital on Friday when he said,
"The Bhim Army was made to protect the Constitution. Before you got and vote remember the demise of Rohith Vemula. Do you remember Rohith Vemula? Do you remember Una violence? Do you remember Shabbirpur? Do you remember the Phagwara incident? Who pulled the trigger? Will you forget all these and vote?"
He added, "People are free to vote, but remember that the oppressor will always remain an oppressor. That's why I said, we will repeat Bhima Koregaon violence. But for now, we don't feel the need for it. But we will repeat Bhima Koregaon if the Constitution is tampered with."
Azad also announced his decision to contest the Lok Sabha election against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Varanasi seat and urged the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance to support him. The Dalit leader also announced its support to SP-BSP on all 79 seats they are contesting in Uttar Pradesh general assembly elections.
"I will challenge Narendra Modi in Varanasi. To protect the Constitution and the rights of Dalits. I do not want to become an MP or MLA. Had that been the case, I would have chosen a reserved seat," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
Bhim Army's C. Azad:Vote dene se pehle Rohith ki shahadat yaad rakhna,Atyachari,atyachari hota hai,vo kabhi tumhara hiteshi nahi ho sakta...Isliye maine kaha Bhima-Koregaon dohra denge,abhi uski zarurat nahi ai hai,jis din desh ke samvidhan pe aanch ai,Bhima-Koregaon dohra denge pic.twitter.com/X92UgUX5Rx
— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2019
"After the prime minister came to know that we are going to challenge him in Varanasi, he started washing the feet of sanitation workers in Allahabad," he added.
"We will send out a message to workers of Bhim Army to work hard to defeat the BJP. I will contest against Prime Minister Modi and defeat him. The whole Bahujan community is with us. I will teach him a lesson," he added.
The Bhim Army also announced that it will field a candidate against Union Minister Smriti Irani.
On Wednesday, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi met the Bhim Army Chief at a hospital in Meerut, where he was hospitalised, thus, triggering all political curiosity. Azad was admitted to a hospital after he fell ill after police detained him for allegedly violating the poll code of conduct by taking out a 'Bahujan Hunkar' bike rally in Saharanpur, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram, the founder of BSP.
