NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, DEC 7
Patidar quota agitators along with community leader Naresh Patel called on Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday in Gandhinagar and sought withdrawal of all remaining criminal cases lodged against protesters during the 2015 stir for reservation for the social group in the state.
One of the delegation members later claimed the CM assured that all the pending cases against the agitators will be withdrawn in the coming days, though there was no official word from the state government on the issue.
During the meeting, leaders associated with the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), the group that spearheaded the stir, also demanded “semi-government” jobs for the kin of nine Patidar youths who died during the quota agitation, said one of the key members of PAAS, Dinesh Bambhania.
After the meeting, held at the CM’s official residence, Bambhania told reporters that the chief minister assured that all the pending cases will be withdrawn in the coming days.
“There were nearly 428 cases which were supposed to be withdrawn. While the government has already withdrawn 228 cases as promised by them, the process of withdrawal has not been initiated at all for 146 cases. In the remaining 54 cases, things are not moving forward due to some legal issues despite the process having been initiated long back,” said Bambhania.
“The CM has given an assurance that all the remaining cases will be withdrawn soon. Since he will be visiting Dubai in the coming days, the CM told us that he will hold a detailed meeting with officials concerned next week to start the process of withdrawal,” he said.
Bhupendra Patel has also given an assurance that the kin of 9 Patidar youths who died during the stir for quota for the social group in government services and education will be given “semi-government” jobs, he said.
The Chief Minister’s Office has not issued any statement yet about the meeting.
Bambhania said the government must also withdraw three cases of sedition lodged against the main agitators, including himself, Alpesh Kathiriya and movement spread head Hardik Patel, who is now the working president of the Gujarat Congress.
“If the government wants, it can withdraw these cases too. The Rajasthan government withdrew 108 such cases some years ago. We have also submitted those documents to the CM during the meeting,” said Bambhania.
Apart from Bambhania, the meeting was also attended by prominent Patidar community members Kathiriya, Geeta Patel and Naresh Patel, the chairman of Khodaldham, a famous shrine of Leuva Patels.
Before the meet, Naresh Patel, who holds considerable influence over Leuva Patidars of the Saurashtra region, indicated that he may join politics if the community asks him to do so.
“Let the community decide whether I should join politics or not. I can’t say anything right now. But, I will be left with no other option and may have to take the plunge if the community asks me to join politics,” said Naresh Patel.
Notably, the Gujarat Assembly polls are expected in 2022-end.
