Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti withdraws threat to disrupt Rahul Gandhi’s meeting

Congress and PAAS leaders at the meeting in Ahmedabad on Monday. (Express Photo/Javed Raja)

Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) has withdrawn its threat to disrupt a public meeting of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Surat after a marathon four-hour meeting with the state Congress leaders here on Monday. The threat was issued by PAAS convener Hardik Patel on Saturday when he asked the Congress to clear its stand on constitutional reservation for Patidar community under the OBC category by November 3, failing which Rahul Gandhi will have to face protests akin to those faced by Amit Shah.

The announcement to withdraw the threat was made by Surat-based PAAS leader Alpesh Kathiria after a meeting between a team of four senior Congress leaders, led by state Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki, and eight PAAS leaders, led by Dinesh Bambhaniya, at the state Congress office here. The meeting was held over four important issues, including reservation for Patidar community under the OBC category for which PAAS has been agitating for over two years.

Addressing mediapersons after the meeting, Kathiria said, “We have decided neither to oppose Rahul Gandhi’s public meeting in Surat on November 3 nor support it.” He said that the Congress has accepted all the demands raised by the PAAS, except the issue of “Constitutional reservation’’ for the community under OBC category. “The Congress has assured us to come up with a solution after consulting legal and constitutional experts on the issue in the next few days,” he added. When questioned, Kathiria said that the decision about supporting the Congress in elections will be taken after a meeting of PAAS leaders on November 6 and 7. However, he said that Hardik will not attend Rahul Gandhi’s meeting in Surat.

Former state Congress president Siddharth Patel, who briefed the media separately, termed the meeting with PAAS leaders “very positive”. On providing constitutional reservation to Patidars under the OBC quota, the Congress leader said that the issue was discussed in detail with PAAS leaders and the party has the political will to solve it within the framework of the Constitution. “However, we will take a final decision on it after consulting constitutional and legal experts,” said Patel. He said that the Congress will have a second round of talks with PAAS leaders after collecting more information on the issue. He said that if Congress comes to power, the government will withdraw all cases filed against Patidar youths in connection with reservation agitation, including those pertaining to treason and sedition.

He said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will be set up to probe all the cases related to the Patidar reservation stir, including atrocities on Patidar agitators, and strict legal action will be taken against those policemen found guilty. When pointed out that the BJP government has also formed the SIT, he said that jurisdiction of the existing SIT was not to probe the cases of treason and sedition. “The SIT to be set up by the Congress will cover all such cases as well. BJP has not done justice,” said Patel.

Kathiria said that while the BJP government has withdrawn most of the cases, those related to sedition and treason cases have not been withdrawn. The Congress also assured the PAAS that its government will extend financial assistance of Rs 35 lakh to each of those killed during the Patidar reservation agitation, including non-Patidars, and give government job to one of the nearest kin of those killed based on his/her educational qualification.

Siddharth Patel said that the Congress government would also form a “statutory”’ commission for reservation to poor and economically backward from the non-reserved categories, including Patidars, and also allocate Rs 2,000 crore to it for education, skill development and self-employment of the poor from unreserved category. When told that the BJP government had also formed a commission, Patel said that the existing commissioner was based on government notification and had no legal status and could be challenged in any court of law.