Sessions Court in Gujarat’s Visnagar town on Wednesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Patidar leaders Hardik Patel and Lalji Patel for not attending the court proceedings in a case of an alleged attack on a BJP MLA’s office.
According to official sources, the warrant was issued for not attending three court hearings.
A case was filed against Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel and 17 others by Visnagar police for allegedly ransacking the office of BJP MLA Rushikesh Patel during a protest rally of Patidars demanding job reservation in July 2015.
“I have been regularly attending the hearings. It is only today that due to some social commitment I could not attend,” Lalji Patel told reporters.
“This could be due to the political situation prevalent today. No one would have heard that one gets an arrest warrant issued for not attending one hearing.”
Dinesh Bhambaniya, a close aide of Hardik Patel, asserted that this was a reflection of the ruling BJP’s desperation ahead of Assembly elections.
“He (Hardik) has not attended only one hearing,” Bhambaniya said.
Another Patidar leader, Atul Patel, claimed this would have an adverse impact on the already worsening poll prospects of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“It has been 27 months and 18 days since we launched the agitation and we will continue to fight against the BJP with more force. As for Hardik, we will consult our lawyers and take the legal process forward,” he said.
Hardik Patel, meanwhile, has been on a whirlwind tour for the last four days holding rallies across the Saurashtra region. This will continue till October 31.