NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, DEC 11
A week after PAAS leaders had urged Gujarat CM to withdraw cases against them, a group of Patidar MPs of the BJP on Friday met Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and urged him to withdraw cases filed against youths from the community during the 2015 quota stir.
These MPs said the chief minister had assured them most of the cases against Patidar community youths will be withdrawn in a few days. The delegation that met the CM in Gandhinagar included Mohan Kundariya, Mitesh Patel, Ramesh Dhaduk, Hasmukh Patel and Shardaben Patel.
“We requested the chief minister to withdraw all cases against Patidar youths filed during the quota agitation. We also requested that minor cases filed against any other community during some kind of agitation or protest must be withdrawn too,” Rajkot MP Kundariya told reporters after meeting the CM.
“The chief minister told us this is a legal matter, so he will try his best to withdraw cases against Patidar youths involved in the agitation. He said this will be done as soon as possible,” Mehsana MP Shardaben Patel said.
Earlier, some cases were withdrawn when Vijay Rupani was the chief minister, but several cases are still pending in various courts, Porbandar MP Dhaduk said.
Last Monday, Patidar community leaders led by Naresh Patel and those associated with Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) met Patel and had raised similar demands for withdrawal of remaining cases. These leaders said there were 428 cases against Patidar youths, of which 228 had been withdrawn. the process of withdrawal had not been initiated at all in 146 cases, and in the remaining 54 cases, things had not moved forward.
The Patidar quota stir in 2015 had turned violent in the state, leading to the death of 14 youths and damage to property worth several crore rupees, after which sedition cases were slapped against PAAS leaders like Hardik Patel, now with the Congress, while others involved in violent protests faced milder charges.
Incidentally, Bhupendra Patel, a Patidar, was appointed as Gujarat CM on September 21 this year replacing Rupani, after which the demand for withdrawal of cases started with renewed vigour. The state is scheduled to have Assembly polls later next year.
