New Delhi: More than 500 men and women had gathered outside the house of Chandrashekhar Azad in Uttar Pradesh's Chhutmalpur on Sunday just to get a glimpse of the Bhim Army chief, two days after he was released from jail. Most in the crowd were aware of the social and political change Chandrashekhar can bring about. But while he talks of "uprooting the Modi government", the leader is yet to make up his mind on elections. Speaking to News18.com, Chandrashekhar says he intends to stay a social worker “as of now”. “I will not fight 2019 elections… These people and most in Saharanpur ardently follow whatever I say. I owe a responsibility to them. I am the one they expect leadership and change from. I can't take political sides. I need to be honest and transparent," he said. Edited excerpts: Why do think you were released early? It is simply a case of the BJP government trying to take political mileage. I know for a fact that the government lawyer had told the court that there is no evidence against Chandrashekhar Azad. The Yogi government thought that is the right time to try and appease the Bahujan society and so decided to release me. What else can the reason be? You suddenly put me behind bars for no fault of mine, then comes NSA. I stay inside for more than a year and suddenly when my release date is around, you set me free? It is not so simple to wrongly influence the Bahujan community now. We are a strong, unified force that understands the wrong from the right. This is nothing but a political gimmick. They have understood that we are potentially a very big vote bank and therefore are doing things to appear as well-wishers. I want to ask, if the BJP was for us, why were Kasganj riots planned? What happened in Bhima Koregaon? Why are planned riots happening in the name of religion and caste? The claims that the government has done so much for us are nothing but false. This government functions in a manner resembling dictatorship. Did any BJP leader come to meet you when you were inside? (Laughs) Many people have met me and are still coming to meet me. They come as social workers, as well-wishers. Now, I don't know what political party they belong to. I get to read in papers the next day that the person concerned was from this or that party. I have not met any BJP party worker who came to me with his/her identity disclosed. What is your immediate plan of action? Are you fighting the next election? Immediate plan is to rest for the next two days and then think about the future. As of now, I am not getting into politics. I plan to work for the social cause from outside the realm of politics. I went to jail with the thought that you cannot get anything good out of politics, you need to stay a social activist in order to bring about a change in the society. There are 131 members of Parliament and almost 1,100 state ministers. They are doing their politics, but are they able to bring any positive change? They are not, so I better stay away from venturing into that. If there is a social change happening, automatically politics in the country will change for the better. With the kind of anger that there is within the Bahujan community, you never know, we may just topple the government in 2019. BJP may not be in power, thanks to us. Good thing about being in social life is that you are very transparent, unlike a politician. You talk of "uprooting the Modi government" and supporting the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) ideology while Mayawati constantly calls you a BJP agent, what is the logical conclusion? I do not support the party, I support the person. I consider Mayawati my bua (paternal aunt) and I have no enmity with her. If she has said anything then, I am sure there are external forces influencing her to give such comments. I owe my allegiance to her because she is one of our own, the same blood. Though I have not met her personally, I know that she cannot say anything against me. It can also be that people around her are also among those who are oppressors, so they do not want a new face, a new leader from the apparently downtrodden community. Therefore, they may be influencing her. It's a political game. How do you plan to take the Bhim Army ahead? We started off with the principle that was taught to us by Kanshi Ram. We want to unite all castes and sub-castes together and have a united country. You must understand that this is our nation as well, not just of those who belong to the so-called higher caste. We want to unite the Bahujan society together so that people for their political motives do not incite violence in which innocent, poor people die. You must have noticed that no minister is ever killed in a riot, their houses are never burnt, only the poor, downtrodden, normal people of the society are the most affected because they are made to fight against each other for electoral and political gains. We are trying to instil the thought that education is the most important if you do not want to be exploited. Financial stability, which is also a concern, can only be solved through education. We are going around places and teaching people their fundamental rights. For example, if somebody is arrested he/she must know when, where and why and whom to contact. We also try and support families to get their daughters married. We are trying to educate children who cannot afford formal education by running schools. We also collect donations from people to help those families who cannot make ends meet. If you have any suggestion please tell me. Do you feel the need to regroup resources for Bhim Army given your long absence?<doc-sep>Lucknow: Bhim army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who was released from Saharanpur Jail on Friday morning, has vowed to 'uproot' the Narendra Modi government in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Azad alias Ravan was imprisoned in June 2017 after being charged under the draconian National Security Act in connection with the Saharanpur caste violence case. Sources had told News18 on Thursday that Uttar Pradesh government has decided to release the Dalit leader as "BJP's move to reach out to the community ahead of 2019 elections". The Bhim army chief received a heroic welcome outside the jail by his cadre members, who had gathered in huge numbers since Thursday night. “I would like to urge all the Dalits to fight for their rights, no matter if they have to take to streets. Dalits should be ready to take what is given to them in the Constitution. I will continue to urge people to uproot this dictator BJP government,” Chandrashekhar said.​ He further said that he has no differences with Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati whatsoever and she is more like ‘Bua’ (aunt) to him. Azad said that she had been 'fighting for the rights of the Dalits'. He said that the government may soon frame some charges against him. “Government was so scared that they are going to be rebuked by the Supreme Court, that they ordered an early release to save themselves,” news agency ANI quoted ‘Ravan’ as saying. “The fight has just begun against the people who have misused the government machinery. The protest of April 2 was non-violent, but how did 11 people die? The BJP is like a double-mouthed snake. They can’t be trusted. Everybody is facing atrocities barring capitalists,” he said, while speaking to media outside the Saharanpur Jail. According to information, the NSA was withdrawn before time on 'sympathy grounds', citing the application by his mother. However, political experts see it as BJP's attempt to reach out to Dalits, especially as it comes just weeks after the saffron party faced Dalit ire for Supreme Court's alleged dilution of the SC/ST Act. The BJP has made a concerted attempt to chip away at caste combinations that are held as key voter base of opposition Congress, Samajwadi Party and particularly the Bahujan Samaj Party after losing the bypoll in Kairana to the joint opposition candidate Tabassum Hasan. The Bhim Army chief had also announced his support for Hasan. She had won by around 44,000 votes, in a major jolt to the BJP. ​<doc-sep>He was arrested from Himachal Pradesh’s Dalhousie in June 2017 in connection with the May 5 caste violence in which one person was killed and 16 were injured at Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur. Chandrashekhar Azad, alias Ravan, founder of Ambedkarite outfit Bhim Army, walked out of the Saharanpur jail in the early hours of Friday after spending more than a year behind bars in connection with the caste violence between Thakurs and Dalits in the district. Soon after his release, which was met with loud chants of ‘Jai Bhim’ by hundreds of supporters gathered outside the prison, the Dalit youth leader vowed to “teach a lesson to the goondas of BJP” and topple its government in 2019 for sending innocent Dalits to jail. “I won’t sleep and let anyone sleep till the throne is toppled in 2019,” he said. The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday decided to revoke the NSA lodged against Mr. Azad and release him from jail before the scheduled date on November 1. The State Home Department, which falls under the CM himself, issued directions to the district administration for the release, saying the decision was taken on sympathetic grounds taking into consideration the representations by Mr. Azad’s mother and the “current situation”. Mr. Azad and other Bhim Army activists were arrested in June 2017 for their alleged involvement in the caste violence that erupted in Saharanpur. Last November, a day after he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court, the Yogi Adityanath government slapped the NSA on him, putting him under detention. After the HC in April dismissed his petition to quash the NSA, Mr. Azad last month challenged his detention under in the Supreme Court, which then issued notices to the State government. The matter was to come up for hearing. PTI adds.. ''It’s time for the real battle'' Mr. Azad walked out of the jail around 2.40 a.m. as hundreds of his supporters, wearing blue Bhim Army caps, gathered outside the prison to celebrate his release, the Dalit group’s national spokesperson Manjeet Singh Nautiyal said. Many thronged his residence and distributed sweets in the neighbourhood while a section of his admirers made a beeline for clicking a selfie with the Dalit leader. “The Bhim Army will not buckle under pressure from the government and will fight in a constitutional manner to throw the BJP out of power in the general election,” he said. Mr. Azad claimed that he met several inconsolable youngsters inside the jail who were ''falsely implicated by the police'' due to their caste. He said his stay inside the prison had strengthened his resolve to fight against the alleged atrocities being committed against Dalits. “It’s a very long constitutional fight for our rights. It’s time for the real battle. The Bhim Army was faltering in the absence of a leader, but I have returned now,” the 31-year-old leader said. Mr. Azad said he was given “dry rotis” in the prison and his family was not allowed to meet him. “All that I went through, I will make sure to return it to the BJP with interest in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” he said, adding that he would not contest the coming elections. The government was playing politics on the SC/ST Act issue and the Dalit community would give a befitting answer to the BJP in the 2019 elections. “The March 20 Supreme Court judgment diluting the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was based on the government’s views against the law,” he said. “Now, they have passed an amendment bill to restore the original version of the Act. We know what they are trying to do.” Sources in the State BJP said the Bhim Army had played a big part in the win of joint BSP-SP-RLD candidate Tabassum Hasan in the recent Kairana Lok Sabha bypoll. Mr. Azad had written a letter from inside the jail, asking Bhim Army cadres to campaign in support of Ms. Hasan and trounce the BJP.<doc-sep>Chandrashekhar was released from Saharanpur jail in the wee hours of Friday. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav) Chandrashekhar was released from Saharanpur jail in the wee hours of Friday. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav) Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar was released from prison in the early hours of Friday after the Uttar Pradesh government revoked the National Security (NSA) against him and ordered for his early release in the Saharanpur violence case in 2017. The Bhim Army chief, released from the Saharanpur jail around 2.30 am, was quoted by ANI as saying that the government was ” scared” and to save themselves they ordered his early release. The Dalit leader, however, said the government will “frame some charges against me within 10 days.” The state government on Thursday revoked the NSA charges against Chandrashekhar alias Ravan and ordered his early release after considering a representation submitted by his mother. He was jailed 15 months ago. Also read | Who is Chandrashekhar? Chandrashekhar at his residence in Chutmalpur village after release from jail. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav) Chandrashekhar at his residence in Chutmalpur village after release from jail. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav) Addressing the media, Chandrashekhar said, “Government was so scared that they are going to be rebuked by Supreme Court, that they ordered an early release to save themselves. I’m confident they’ll frame some charges against me within 10 days: I’ll ask my people to throw BJP out of power in 2019, “Chandrashekhar told ANI. The Dalit leader was greeted with garlands by a huge crowd of supporters. Chandrashekhar was arrested, along with two others, in connection with the clashes in Saharanpur in May 2017, leading to the death of two persons. He was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in November 2017 before the government detained him under the NSA.<doc-sep>
New Delhi: After he was released early on Friday morning from Saharanpur jail, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad has spoken out against the BJP, the ruling party both at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh. “Voting for the BJP is jeopardising your future generations. Now I have come back, I will appeal to everyone in the country that they should not vote for BJP in 2019 under any circumstance,” Azad told reporters. He urged people to be wary of those who speak in different voices at different times. “We will take our movement forward and try to educate the public about the kind of people they should stay away from. The kind of people who are like two headed snakes and who bite.” “They did not allow me to be treated when I was unwell in jail. They did not allow me to meet my family. Was not given proper food. They committed atrocities against us in jail. Whatever they did to us, we will return to them with interest in 2019,” Azad added. Azad also said the UP government decided to release him before November 1, when the application of the National Security Act against him would have lapsed, as it was “scared” of a reprimand from the Supreme Court. “Government was so scared that they are going to be rebuked by the Supreme Court, that they ordered an early release to save themselves. I’m confident they’ll frame some charges against me within ten days: I’ll ask my people to throw BJP out of power in 2019,” Chandrashekhar told ANI. The Bhim Army will organise once more and hit the streets to protest against atrocities on Dalits, Azad said. “We will protest against the detention of Dalits for the April 2 violence. We want these cases to be withdrawn. We will not step back. Even if we are put behind bars again. Even if they book us under NSA again.” Elaborating his stand on the BJP, the Bhim Army chief said he will not allow communal forces to come to power. “I will not allow communal forces to come to power once again. There is still time, there will be alliances. We will see what happens. But, the BJP will not be allowed to come to power.” Commenting on his own political future, “Chandrashekhar will not contest the elections,” he said referring to himself in the third person. Azad also took credit for ‘averting’ a Dalit-Muslim clash in April last year which, according to him, was planned by the BJP. “They wanted the Dalits and Muslims to clash in Saharanpur. The BJP MP took out a procession honouring Ambedkar through a Muslim dominated area with the only intention of causing communal violence. When I did not allow that to happen, they wanted to exact revenge against me.”