Ready to leave Congress and reignite the Patidar agitation: Hardik Patel

Hardik Patel, the incumbent chairman of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, on Monday threatened to reignite the Patidar agitation if outstanding demands are not met by March 23, and said he was ready to quit. the party for it.

He said that the demands related to the 2015 unrest made by the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) have still not been met. And this forced him and others Patidar leaders to revive the agitation.

“In the month leading up to the ultimatum date of March 23, which is the anniversary of Bhagat Singh’s death, we have planned to hold four programs. Patidar leaders and all who want to join the agitation will approach the elected officials and submit their memorandum.Similarly, government offices in Tehsil and districts will also be approached,” said Jayesh Patel, Hardik Assistant and Organizer, Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS).

“The BJP government has disregarded our demands so far and their assurance to meet all pending demands has turned out to be nothing but a sucker. I raise this again. If the demands are not met, we will relaunch the Patel agitation again, and it will be of the same intensity as in 2015,” Hardik said.

He said PAAS demands for reservation of the Patidar community were justified since the state government and the Center had made arrangements for reservation of the poor and backward classes and a 10% quota for the economically backward upper castes .

“The government can view our March 23 ultimatum as much a demand as a threat. We have asked the government to honor its assurances,” Hardik Patel said.

“Anandiben, as Chief Minister, has withdrawn many cases, but the government led by Vijay Rupani has not withdrawn any. So we reiterate our demands to the new leadership. If the government wishes to take revenge on me, qu ‘So be it, but at least withdraw the sedition case against 202 others,’ Hardik said.

Hardik said as many as three to four thousand young people are still affected by these cases. “They find it difficult to get government jobs, to study or to go abroad,” Hardik said.

Patel said that after their move in 2015, the central government announced a 10% reserve for backward upper castes.

“It’s not just the Patel community that has benefited from this reserve, but the whole society has benefited from it,” Hardik Patel said.

Apart from the removal of police records, other PAAS demands include providing jobs to relatives of the Patidar youths who lost their lives during the unrest.

“The government has still not responded to our demands such as jobs for family members of those who died during the Patidar movement,” he said.

The workers’ president of the GPCC said he was ready to leave the party to revive the agitation if necessary.

–IANS

amc/dpb

(Only the title and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear reader,

Business Standard has always endeavored to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that matter to you and that have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your constant encouragement and feedback on how to improve our offering has only strengthened our resolve and commitment to these ideals. Even in these challenging times stemming from Covid-19, we remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative opinions and incisive commentary on relevant topical issues.
However, we have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more so that we can continue to bring you more great content. Our subscription model has received an encouraging response from many of you who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of bringing you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practice the journalism we are committed to.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

digital editor