After Gujarat Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader Narendra Patel alleged that the BJP offered him Rs 1 crore to join the party, another Patidar leader, Nikhil Sawani, who had joined the BJP in September, has decided to quit the party.
Patel, part of Hardik Patel’s Samiti, made the claim after earlier announcing that he had joined the BJP in the presence of party leaders.
Patel’s claim came at a press conference in Ahmedabad on Sunday evening, where he said that he was ‘made to say’ that he would be joining the ruling party in the state.
At a press conference today, Sawani said: “I congratulate Narendra Patel. He comes from a small family but still he didn't choose Rs 1 crore.” He said that hearing about the offer had “upset him.” Sawani also said that he would seek a meeting with Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi. Sawani had joined the BJP at the end of September. "I wasn't offered money to join the BJP. I have resigned now because they are just offering lollipop and fulfilling nothing," said Sawani.
Patel had said that Varun Patel, who had earlier joined the BJP on Saturday, “took me to a meeting where it was discussed that I will be given Rs 1 Crore received the money from his hands.”
Patel added that he had already been given Rs 10 lakh in advance, but was returning it, saying: “Yeh paisa mujhe nahi chahiye,main sirf Patidar samaj ke liye andolan mein aya hun, mein rajkiye apeksha ke liye nahi aya hun. Jo Rs 10 lakh koi mehnat ka paisa nahi hai, bhrashtachar ka paisa hai, main Mehsana ka shaheed hun mein, paisa wapas karunga (I do not want this money. I have only come for the Patidar movement, I do not aspire for power. This money is not a fruit of labour, but corruption. I will martyr myself for Mehsana, will return the money.)”
Earlier on Saturday, quota spearhead Hardik Patel's key aides--Varun Patel and Reshma Patel-- joined the ruling BJP in a dramatic turn of events.
The development came hours after state Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki invited Hardik Patel to join hands with the party.
Solanki even promised to give an additional 20 per cent reservation to economically backward classes in the state if the Congress is voted to power in the upcoming assembly polls.
Varun Patel and Reshma Patel were among the prominent faces of the Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) and remained critical of the ruling BJP during the agitation.
They joined the BJP after a meeting with Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and state party chief Jitu Vaghani during its parliamentary board meeting, which was also attended by BJP president Amit Shah.
After joining the BJP, the Patidar leaders alleged that Hardik Patel had become a "Congress agent" and was trying to use the agitation to overthrow the present state government.
"Our agitation was about getting reservation under the OBC quota, not about uprooting the BJP and bringing the Congress to power," Reshma Patel told reporters.
While the BJP always supported the community and accepted a majority of our demands, Congress is only trying to use Patels as a vote bank. We do not want to be part of such malicious conspiracy," she claimed.
"This agitation was not of Hardik Patel's alone. He is now acting like a Congress agent. Varun and I are of the opinion that the BJP would definitely fulfil our demands," she claimed.
Varun Patel said the Patidar community would never allow the Congress to take over the reins of Gujarat by "inciting" Patel youths.
"The BJP government (in the state) held talks with us in the past to resolve various issues. However, the Congress never held such talks, as they were not committed. We have decided to join BJP because we do not want to run the agitation by becoming Congress agents," he said.
"The BJP government even promised us to represent the issue of reservation to the OBC Commission. BJP leaders also promised us to provide legal help in case we want to take up the matter with the Supreme Court," he added.
Unfazed by the announcement of his key aides, Hardik Patel said in a tweet he that will continue to fight for the people.
"The centipede will continue to run even if some of his legs break. People are with me, and I will continue to fight for them," he said.
With Agency Inputs
