Rahul Gandhi is in Gandhinagar to address a rally ahead of Gujarat elections later this year.
A day after Narendra Patel, activist Hardik Patel's senior aide from north Gujarat, alleged that he had been
offered a crore to join the BJP, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said that "Gujarat is priceless and can never be bought".
"Gujarat is priceless. It has never been bought. It can never be bought. It will never be bought," Mr Gandhi said on Twitter.
Hours after he joined hands with the BJP on Sunday, Narendra Patel, a Patidar or Patel leader called a late-night press conference where he made this sensational claim and displayed the 10-lakh token amount, part of the cash allegedly promised by the state's ruling party.
Narendra Patel is a senior member of a group led by 24-year-old activist Hardik Patel, the face of the massive Patel agitation for reservation in government colleges and jobs.
While rubbishing his charges, Gujarat BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said, "All these allegations are false. It was a drama (enacted) by Narendra Patel at the behest of Congress."
The Congress, out of power in Gujarat for over two decades, has been trying to woo the Patels, who have supported the BJP for years but have been upset recently over the benefits of reservation not being extended to them. They have also carried out big agitations against the state government.
Rahul Gandhi has gone all out to garner their support. He is personally meeting the prominent faces of the reservation agitation. He is scheduled to meet Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani in Gandhinagar today, where he is holding a rally. He had also requested Hardik Patel to join them, but he politely declined the invite citing his busy schedule, but they could meet in the days to come, he offered.