Hardik Patel absent from Cong meet on tribal issues, he cites ‘prior plan’

Meanwhile party leaders said on Saturday that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit Dahod on Gujarat Foundation Day on May 1 to kickstart the party’s Adivasi Adhikar Yatra (Tribal Rights Rally) that will pass through the tribal belt.

Declining to comment on the speculations regarding his exit from the party, Hardik told The Sunday Express, “I could not attend the meeting in Dahod because I had a prior plan to visit Salangpur to pay obeisance at the Hanuman temple as it is a very important day being Saturday and Hanuman Jayanti… I had already conveyed to the party that I cannot attend the Dahod event. There is nothing more to read into it.”

GPCC Spokesperson Manish Doshi said that Patel’s absence was not to be seen as a “major” issue as the event was focused on tribal issues. Doshi said, “The Dahod event was specifically planned to discuss issues faced by the tribal community. All our important leaders were present, including leader of the Opposition Sukhram Rathwa and also the MLAs from tribal constituencies… Hardik’s absence is not to be seen as anything more than it being a tribal rights meeting.”

Meanwhile, senior GPCC leaders including state President Jagdish Thakor, Leader of Opposition Sukhram Rathwa and 13 MLAs of tribal constituencies in the state remained present at the event — MLA Bhavesh Katara also skipped the meeting, sparking off rumours in Dahod about a possible exit of Kataras.

Denying the rumours, Doshi said, “Bhavesh Katara had excused himself from the meeting and informed the party in advance.”
Doshi said that the party had invited Rahul Gandhi to kickstart the Adivasi Adhikar Yatra on May 1 from Dahod as well as for the Bardoli Satyagraha on June 12.

“We are expecting that he will attend both the momentous events.. AICC incharge of Gujarat, Raghu Sharma will also be at the event. The event will see the commencement of the Yatra, which will travel through the tribal belt of the state… The message that the party is taking across to the tribals is that Congress is with them in ensuring that their rights are not trampled upon,” Doshi said.

“The tribal belt extends from Ambaji to Umergaon in Gujarat but the BJP has not allowed tribals to use the rights they have been conferred upon. Tribal education is given the least importance and their lands are taken away in the name of development… Kaprada, which has the highest rainfall in the tribal belt, is struggling with drinking water. We aim to educate and empower the community through the yatra in the belt, which is a traditional Congress stronghold,” the spokesperson added.