With Gujarat Government not heeding to the Patels’ demand for OBC status, at least 500 families of the community have threatened to leave Hinduism and convert to another religion for getting benefits of reservation in jobs and education.
These families reside in Pasodara village near Surat city, around 260 kms from here. local Patel leaders called this move as a symbolic protest against the State Government, which according to them, has denied reservation benefits to the community members under OBC category.
“At least 500 Patel families of Pasodara have decided to go for conversion in the wake of the government’s denial of reservation benefits to the Patels. We have conveyed our wish to convert to various Hindu organisations and leaders of our religion,” said Raju Bodara, a prominent member of Akhil Bharatiya Patidar Sena, a Patel group, in Surat.