PAAS leader Hardik Patel on Tuesday said Gujaratis were believed to be very clever but they have not been for last 22 years, adding that Patel agitation leaders had not sought tickets from any political party or wished to contest polls.
Hardik Patel’s statement comes in the wake of an agreement by the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) with the Congress on reservations for the Patels.
Speaking at a public rally at Tragad village near Dholka town, an hour’s drive from Ahmedabad, Hardik Patel again did not speak on extending direct support to the Congress in the December assembly elections that would have been music to Congress ears.
Quiet for the last 48 hours, the PAAS leader was expected to announce support for the Congress after the party bowed to PAAS pressure and changed as many as five of the 89 candidates in the first phase of polls on December 9.
Continuing his tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah, he said: “I am openly saying we are fighting against the BJP and will defeat it.”
“People in India and across the globe wrongly believe that we Gujaratis are clever as we are a business community. But the fact is we are not… the only thing left now is to write on our forehead — I am not clever,” Hardik Patel said.
“The 182 legislators are not at fault. Neither is the Chief Minister or the Prime Minister. It is us who elect such donkeys as leaders.”
Maintaining that he did not oppose Modi at a personal level, he lashed out at the Prime Minister.
“He will become a dictator. After 2019, he will ensure there are no elections.”
“He (PM) said in Uttar Pradesh that he gives 24-hour electricity in Gujarat but never did. He has used us across the country… he is wrong, wrong, and wrong. So, I fight him,” the PAAS leader said
On quotas, Hardik said he never opposed or sought benefits extended to scheduled castes or tribes or other backward classes. “What we asked for is benefits similar to the OBC community,” he added.
“We never asked any political party for contesting or for tickets for elections. Our main and sole aim is to get reservation for the Patel community.”