Hardik Patel seeks to revive Patidar quota stir with Mahapanchayat

Seeking to revive his campaign, Hardik called upon his community members to reorganise one more time now that Assembly elections in the state had got over and also struck a reconciliatory tone apparently with respect to former quota leaders like Varun Patel, Reshma Patel, etc who had joined the BJP in the run-up to the Assembly election.

“The agitation was not limited to an election only. It is a process which can go on for years. It is unlikely that an agitation will succeed in six months or two years and win justice for a community. We will have to struggle, go to jail, digest abuse etc. We will have to stick together in such times. This mahapanchayat is for mending strained relations between me and you, to reset things. I call upon each one of those who have parted ways with me, if I erred somewhere, let us sit in a room and sort it out. If I committed any mistake, let us sit together and start a process,” said Hardik.

Addressing the gathering earlier, Vasoya also said that they could have committed mistake in the past and asked the quota leaders to rectify them and appealed to the community to throw its weight behind quota leaders one more time. The PAAS had extended support to Congress in the December Assembly elections. While Congress and its allies won 78 seats, the BJP had managed to retain power in Gujarat by winning 99 seats.

However, Hardik clarified that he will not compromise with those having double standards. “I am not going to entertain those who are guided by personal motives and act only as per orders from Kamalam (the state BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar) and Delhi,” he said.

Both Reshma and Varun had quit PAAS, alleging that Hardik was not agitating for winning OBC quota for Patidars but to help Congress come to power in the state. Dinesh Bambhaniya, one of the closest aides of Hardik, had also pointed fingers at the PAAS chief hours before the state cast votes, saying the quota leader had lost his way.

Hardik also sought the support of Congress leaders in the agitation which has been going on since 2015. “We had invited MLAs from the BJP and the Congress. This is the meeting to enlist support of Patidars who are elected members of both BJP and Congress in our fight for justice, for our demands and to seek redressal of the wrongs that we have been subjected to. Secondly, we have done so many public meetings and delivered so many speeches but our community remains prone to divisions should a couple of elements poke it,” said the 24-year-old in an apparent reference to the divisions in the Patidar community along political lines.

He praised Congress MLAs who were present but took a dig at those who did not show up despite PAAS inviting them formally. “We appreciate that you came here as Congress MLAs and talking about our interests, that you took time out to come all the way here. But Congress has 17 Patidar MLAs. Where are the others? I see 10 to 12. Where are the remaining six? Are they flying kites at home? Paresh Dhanani was expected to come here. He may be the Leader of Opposition, but he was expected to come here and speak form this stage,” said the quota leader while identifying the 14 MLAs as the MLAs from the Congress party of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and those from the BJP who did not turn up as the MLAs of Amit Shah’s party.

He renewed his pledge to fight for an OBC quota for Patidars. “I am here to tell you that if you back me, I am still willing to fight these persecutors, goons and thugs. I am ready to go to jail, to do for you everything I can,” he said.

He also rejected the charge that he was a Congress worker. “How much more may we speak for the Patel community? Patels consider us traitors because we are supporting Congress also. Politicians praise us by acknowledging us as anndaata (the provider of food) if we grow something on our fields and send to their dining tables. But if we come out on road to stage protest, we are labelled as proxies of Congress,” he said, adding he was fighting for sons of farmers and not for sons of industrialist Naresh Patel or Ambanis of Reliance group.

He also suggested that PAAS should invite Congress and BJP MLAs to all its events but then said that he can’t guarantee BJP MLAS of their safety at such events. “Do you agree with my proposal that we invite people of Congress and the BJP to each of our events so that we can know for sure who belongs to our community. Recently, they said the nexus between Hardik and BJP was exposed as Hardk invited BJP people. But had BJP MLAs come here, they could not have returned,” said Hardik.

Speaking before Hardik, PAAS leader Gopal Italiya said that BJP national president Amit Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS were the real enemies of Patidars. He also said that Deputy CM Nitin Patel will join PAAS but for that Patidars will have to “set the stage for him.”