Gujarat wants to see outcome of 23-year rule, not 23-year-old’s CD: Hardik

Gandhinagar, Nov 19 (IANS) Hardik Patel, the leader of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), on Saturday said the people of Gujarat want to see what the BJP has done in 23 years rather than the video of a 23-year-old youth.

Hardik, who had earlier threatened to drop a "bomb" against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at "prestige rally" at Mansa, the home town of party's President Amit Shah, however, stuck to the script of hitting out at BJP.

The PAAS, which has been agitating against the government for more than two years over the issue of reservation for the Patidar community, has pledged to oppose the ruling BJP in the coming state assembly elections in December.

Earlier, they had sought the administration's permission to hold the rally in Mansa, but the same was denied by the Gandhinagar Superintendent of Police.

Touted as a prestige rally for the young Patidar, who has been facing heat after a couple of his video clips allegedly showing his sexual escapades were made viral, Hardik had said more than 50,000 Patels would gather in the Mansa rally.

It was actually an impressive gathering, held despite local administration denying the permission.

In the rally, which took place after eight in the evening, Hardik said if the government had given permission to hold the rally, entire Mansa would have been flooded with Patels.

"The SP and Collector told us that they are being pressurised by people on the top and so they denied us permission. We do not need any permission," Hardik told his supporters.

He said the BJP should not have played the game of CD, as people of Gujarat wanted to see the CD of 23-year rule and not that of a 23-year-old youngster.

"In 2007, they defamed Sanjay Joshi and now it is our turn," he said repeating his earlier allegations that the CDs were released at the behest of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and state BJP chief Jitu Vaghani after spending Rs 40 crore.

Mansa is the place where Patels had held a massive public rally on July 22, 2015, to seek quota under the OBC category. It was also the second public gathering after the quota agitation began in Mehsana on July 6, 2015.

Couple of video clips showing some Hardik supporters hitting a car with sticks at some place away from the venue and chasing a group of boys trying to burn effigy of Hardik at another location also started doing the rounds at the rally.

This saw organisers of the rally appeal to all those attending the rally not to resort to any violence, despite provocation.