Congress demands withdrawal of cases against Hardik Patel and other PAAS leaders, threaten agitation if the government did not comply with the demand.
In a quid pro quo move given the advantage it got from the mobilisation of anti-BJP Patidar votes in the recently concluded elections, the Gujarat Congress Saturday demanded “immediate withdrawal of the cases registered against Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convener Hardik Patel and his associates”.
Addressing mediapersons Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Bharatsingh Solanki and senior party leader Siddharth Patel declared to launch an agitation against the state govenrment if the cases against PAAS leaders were not withdrawn.
“We will launch agitation against the state government if the cases against PAAS leaders are not withdrawn immediately,” the two Congress leaders said.
However, they did not give any specific time-frame about lauching the agitation.
“We will wait for the government to see what action it takes in the matter. We will certainly launch a statewide agitation if the government fails to withdraw the cases against the Patidar leaders,” Solanki said.
“We stand by Patidars,” affirmed Solanki.
Stating that the young Patidar leaders were “innocent”, Siddharth Patel said: “The Congress will protect the Patidar youth from the government atrocities.”
One of the reasons for the Congress party’s good performance in rural areas is attributed to split in the Patel community and a section of them voting for the Congress though Patels had generally been voting for the BJP till 2014 lok sabha elections.
The Congress leaders feel that if the present political tempo was continued till December 2017 when the next assembly elections are scheduled to be held, the party can gain much political advantage and come to power in the state.
– See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/gujarat-congress-threatens-agitation-if-govt-doesnt-drop-cases-against-hardik-patel/#sthash.Oa0JhzWN.dpuf
