PAAS and SPG, two towers of Patidar stir, break apart

Meanwhile, PAAS leaders were “forced” to change the venue of the meeting of its statewide leaders twice before finally holding it at Umiya Campus, Sola, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. This comes barely 10 days after the massive mobilisation of the community for the Ahmedabad rally, much of the logistics of which were handled by the community.

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Chirag Patel, close aide of PAAS convener Hardik Patel, said, “First, we had planned our meeting at Patidar Hall in Bhadaj. However, we were denied permission. Then, we changed the venue to Radhe Farm in Bopal area. There, police pressured the farm owner and we were forced to vacate the venue. Ultimately, we went to Umiya Campus which is owned by our community members.”

He added, “The government is trying to muzzle our agitation.”

According to Chirag, the meeting was attended by around 400-500 Patidar community leaders from across the state, including Hardik. It was decided to strengthen our organisation in the state while keeping the agitation alive. He added that thy would go ahead with the “Reverse Dandi March” from September 6 whether the government gave it permission or not.

The SPG, on the other hand, held the meeting of its conveners from different districts at Rituraj Farm in Kathwada village. SPG also had to change its venue once from Ashirvad Party Plot to Rituraj Farm. SPG president Lalji Patel said that they changed the venue because it was booked for some other function.
At its meeting, SPG decided to organise a programme on September 6 to pay homage to those who died in the Patidar agitation. “We appeal to Patidar community members across the state to light incense sticks to pay homage to those who died in the agitation,” Lalji said. He also announced a number of initiatives that SPG would take in the coming days. One of them was requesting the government to issue a Rs 5 stamp, with a picture of Sardar Patel, declaring August 26 as the “Patidar Shaheed Din”. Community members who want to contribute to the agitation could buy as many tickets from SPG as they could and contribute to the movement, Lalji said.

Besides, it was decided to establish a core committee of the community leaders from Gujarat that would lead the Patidar reservation agitation, Lalji said.
“The core committee will decide the further course of action. And the movement will not be any individual-centric. We have been in touch with many community leaders and the core committee will be announced in the due course.”

Lalji also added that a decision on the proposed Asthi Yatra of those who died in the agitation would be taken by the core committee. He reiterated his demand for an impartial probe into the alleged police atrocities and handing over the investigation to either the CBI or police outside Gujarat.