Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel targeted BJP, PM Modi at rallies in Gujarat
Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti or PAAS leader Hardik Patel on Tuesday said Gujaratis were believed to be very clever but they have not been for the 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.
Hardik Patel was speaking at a public rally yesterday at Tragad village near Dholka town, an hour's drive from Ahmedabad. Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, Mr Patel said: "I am openly saying we are fighting against the BJP and will defeat it."
"People in India and across the world 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," Mr Patel said.
He lashed out at PM Modi, saying, "After 2019, he will ensure there are no elections."
"He (PM Modi) 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 alleged.
On quotas, Hardik Patel 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."