Cong comes to a pretty PAAS

All is not well between the Congress and the pro-quota outfit Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) as Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who was to make announcement on Monday on the agreement between the two parties on the reservation issue, decided to postpone the programme.

Hardik was scheduled to divulge the fine print of the PAAS-Congress agreement at a gathering at Rajkot, the hometown of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Instead of informing about the pact, Hardik chose to post a 45-second video on social media platform on Monday evening. In the video, Patidars have been appealed not to oppose Hardik’s move to join hands with the Congress.

“We need to overcome the weakness of criticising each other. Alpesh Thakore joined the Congress for the benefit and future of his community. But not a single person from his community opposed him. Jignesh Mevani, the Dalit leader, met Rahul Gandhi for benefit of his community and no one opposed him. But what about us? When our brother (Hardik) goes to meet Congress leaders for the benefit and future of our community, many people from our community opposed him. We should be ashamed of it. We are educated. We use social media. We must support Hardik,” said the person seen in the video.

Hardik has put a written message in the video: “Not for me, but for the community and families of martyrs who died post GMDC rally in August 2015. Do not forget the martyrdom of 14 youngsters.” He appeared philosophical on his social media platform, quoting a couplet by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee about the need to overcome challenges.

Sources said that PAAS leaders confronted the Gujarat Congress leadership soon after the announcement of the first list of 77 Congress candidates. PAAS convener Dinesh Bhambaniya, accompanied by his supporters, barged into the house of State Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki and protested against the inclusion of names of three “unauthorised” PAAS leaders in the Congress list. Sources said the PAAS leadership wanted the Congress to declare only those names that they had authorised.

In Surat, the PAAS members ransacked the Congress city unit office and indulged in sloganeering against the party. “Our community members have not been given proper representation in the list that has been declared. We will not allow any Congress office to function in the state,” Surat city PAAS convener Dharmik Malaviya told the media on Sunday night.

Both PAAS and Congress are expected to discuss over the issue and Hardik would divulge detail regarding agreement with the Opposition party with in the next two days.

Of the total 182 Assembly segments in the State, 89 seats will go to poll in the first phase to be held on December 9. The nomination process for the phase has already started with the issue of notification on November 14. The last date for filing nominations is November 21.