Training guns on Gujarat’s Minister of State for Home Rajani Patel, Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convener Hardik Patel on Wednesday demanded his resignation for not attending the meeting of agitating Patel leaders with Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.
PAAS has been given ‘ten days’ time’ to submit his resignation and in case he fails to do so he has been warned of ‘dire consequences’ at his hometown in North Gujarat by Patel community members.
During the post-Maha Kranti Rally unrest in the last week of August, pro-reservation quota agitators had set Rajani Patel’s house on fire at Mahesana. PAAS has also called upon people to boycott all the functions attended by Ministers, BJP Parliamenta-rians and legislators. This has seen many residential societies across the State put up banners asking politicians to stay away. Women from the Patel community have been disrupting programmes by the BJP leadership by creating a racket at these functions.
Hardik has also criticised all 44 sitting Patidar MlAs for not supporting the pro-quota stir. He went on to say that if they would not support their community, why should they be given votes.
Meanwhile, members of Other Backward Class (OBC) communities, Schedule Castes (SC) and Schedule Tribes (ST) have started to unite with each other in Gujarat to counter the Patel pro-quota stir. As against the five rallies announced by PAAS in the coming days, these castes have decided to form a joint action committee in order to safeguard their reservation interests. They have also planned 11 rallies across the State from September 17 to 28.
Convener of OBC, SC and ST joint action committee Alpesh Thakor on Wednesday said they strongly opposed the way PAAS and other Patel organisations resorted to arm twisting the State Government. Thakor too warned the Government not to be carried away by the pressure techniques of Patels. OBCs had also opposed reverse Dandi March by PAAS drawing parallels with the historic ‘Dandi Yatra’ of Mahatma Gandhi’s salt agitation of 1930. As a result of it, the State Government had to deny permission twice to PAAS to maintain peace and possible clash between two sections of the society. Now, Patels are planning to hold reverse Dandi March with a new name ‘Ekta Yatra’ on Saturday.