Govt unmoved, Hardik ends fast after 19 days

Manas Dasgupta

Ahmedabad, September 12

The 19-day-old indefinite fast by Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti convener Hardik Patel ended on Wednesday without the Gujarat Government taking note of the agitation but with the promise by the Patel community leaders to fight for the demands he had raised.

The 24-year-old leader’s fast though remained unresolved at the government level, it was considered a major success in bridging gaps between six major rival groups of the Patidar community as the leaders of all six groups jointly appealed to him to end his fast and he “agreed to respect their wishes”.

The leaders of all six groups were present and offered lime and coconut juice to Hardik to break his fast at 3.15 pm, 19 days after he had launched his fast at the same time on August 25, the third anniversary day of the Patidar mega rally in Ahmedabad leading to the deaths of 14 Patel youths in police firing.

“This is only out of respect for you elders. To show everyone that you are our elders and we respect you. That we are all united and now that my community elders are with me, I have nothing to worry or be scared of,” Hardik said after breaking his fast even as Deputy CM Nitin Patel ridiculed his agitation since the government remained firm refusing to discuss the issues raised through the “Congress-sponsored” agitation.

“The belief is that if we live, we shall fight and if we fight, we shall win,” Hardik said, repeating why the community elders had advised him to break his fast.

Soon after breaking the fast, he visited the Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.