500 'Badbu Gujarat Ki' postcards sent to Amitabh Bachchan

AHMEDABAD: In an effort to draw the country's attention to their agitation, a dalit group, 'Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti' (UDALS), on Tuesday started its, '

Badbu Gujarat

Ki', campaign. The group sent 500 postcards to Amitabh Bachchan with the tagline 'Badbu Gujarat Ki'. The campaign aims to send 1,500 such postcards whose tagline is in contrast to the Gujarat tourism's tagline - Khushboo Gujarat Ki - use in advertisement commercials in which Amitabh Bachchan featured. All the postcards will be sent to the Bollywood star.

The postcard campaign began after a public meeting in Kalol town of Gandhinagar district. Jignesh Mevani, convener of UDALS, said that the 'Badbu Gujarat ki' initiative is an invitation to Bacchan in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan'.

"Bachchan had done commercials for Gujarat tourism in which he is seen inviting people by saying Khushboo Gujarat Ki . However that is not all about Gujarat. Issues of sanitation workers, skinners and dalits have found no place in the Gujarat model," Mevani said.

"Therefore we have launched this campaign to let Amitabh Bachchan know the real picture of Gujarat and change his perception of the state," Mevani said.

UDALS was also to hold a public meeting in Vejalpur but the organisation did not get police permission for that. Mevani, however, said that they will hold the meeting even without police permission.

"We are ready to face detention or the police can arrest us. But we will hold the meeting in Vejalpur because if permission can be granted to the BJP to hold

Samrasta Sammelan

, why should dalits not be given permission to raise their issue?" Mevani said.

Mevani also said that if the police or the state government obstructs their movement, they will have to be ready to see chairs flying at Modi's meeting in Dahod on September 17.