Rift among Patels widens as stir enters 2nd phase

AHMEDABAD: With the second phase of the agitation by the “Patidars” (Patels) for reservation benefits beginning later this week, the rift within the Patel leadership has widened and come to the fore with both Sardar Patel Group and the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti declaring separate programmes to achieve the objective.

Manas Dasgupta

Ahmedabad, September 3

With the second phase of the agitation by the “Patidars” (Patels) for reservation benefits beginning later this week, the rift within the Patel leadership has widened and come to the fore with both Sardar Patel Group and the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti declaring separate programmes to achieve the objective.

Shadowed by the police, samiti convener Hardik Patel was forced to change the venue of the “Patel Panchayat” thrice before holding it at Umiya Dham in Bhopal on the outskirts of the city to decide its future course of action, while the SPG leader, till recently called the “Guruji” by Hardik, had no problem in gathering his supporters at Kathwada, exactly at the opposite direction of the city.

The Hardik group decided to launch the second phase with the Gandhian way of “presenting” a rose to all Patel members of the State Assembly to publicly declare their “stand” on the cause.

He would begin with the BJP member from Bapunagar Vallabh Kakadia on September 5 before launching the “reverse Dandi March” the next day during which some 2,000 agitating Patidars would march from Dandi on the sea coast in south Gujarat to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, completing the 400-km journey in 20 days, instead of following Mahatma Gandhi from Sabarmati to Dandi to launch the famous Salt Satyagraha.

“We know nothing about Dandi Yatra,” Lalji Patel said.

The SPG would hold prayer meetings and light incense sticks across the state in memory of those killed in the reservation agitation to mobilise support for the cause. While both talked of forming a core committee of leading professionals and leaders of the community to take forward the agitation, both differed again on its leadership. “I will be leading the Dandi yatra and speak during the journey. We will also provide for logistics and food during the entire route of Dandi Yatra,” Hardik said.

Lalji, on the other hand, said the core committee would take the decision, which would be binding on all. “No individual will be the leader, neither Hardik, nor me. It will be collective leadership of our community,” he said.