PAAS accepts Cong’s quota formula

Manas Dasgupta

Ahmedabad, November 22

The Congress today scored a major point over the ruling BJP as “Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti” convener Hardik Patel, short of announcing total support to the party, declared a war against the BJP in the December elections to the Gujarat Assembly. 

Making his much-awaited announcement over the “agreement” the PAAS had reached with the Congress a couple of days ago, Hardik, at a media conference today, declared that the samiti had accepted the reservation formula for the Patels worked out by the Congress. Though he did not spell out support to the Congress in so many words, his acrimonious attitude towards the BJP against whom he said the Patidars were on “warpath” and would ensure the party’s defeat in the December elections made it clear that in effect the PAAS had extended support to the Congress. 

Hardik had evaded an announcement for the last two days after one of his close aides, Dinesh Bhambhaniya, led a handful of Patidar youths to stage demonstration against state Congress president Bharat Solanki over selection of some Congress candidates. He convened a media conference today to declare the decision taken by the PAAS on the “agreement” reached between his organisation and the Congress over its formula to guarantee reservation to the Patels under the Constitution if the party was voted to power in the state. 

Dinesh, who some PAAS leaders had accused to be acting as the BJP agent to disrupt the Congress–PAAS agreement, was also present at the media conference. 

“The Congress has accepted the demand for reservations not just to the Patel community but all the other communities in unreserved category. Their formula provides for benefits equal to OBCs constitutionally. When it comes to power, it will pass a proposal for reservations under Article 31-C and Article 46 of the Constitution without altering current 49 per cent quotas for SC/ST and OBC categories. We can be given more than 50 per cent reservation constitutionally,” Hardik said. 

On the question of Supreme Court orders not to exceed the reservation quota beyond 50 per cent, Hardik claimed nowhere in the Constitution had it been mentioned that quota limit must be restricted to 50 per cent.