Hardik Patel had asked Rahul to make quota stand clear or face backlash during Nov 3 Guj visit
The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) has agreed not to hold protests during Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's rally in Surat on November 3. The decision was taken after a marathon three-hour meeting with PAAS representatives and Gujarat Congress leaders at the party headquarters on Monday during which reservation for Patels and other issues were also discussed.
"We have decided not to hold any protests during Rahul Gandhi's Surat rally. However, we will also not be supporting it," PAAS spokesperson Alpesh Kathiria told media-persons after the meeting with state Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki, senior leaders Siddharth Patel and Arjun Modhwadia, besides others.
The meeting comes a couple of days after PAAS leader Hardik Patel threatened to disrupt Rahul Gandhi's rally in Surat if the party did not spell out its stand on Patel reservation issue by November 3. However, the crisis seems to have been averted for now.
Kathiria said that they will wait till November 6 or 7 for the Congress's response to their query about how the party would grant reservation to Patels, before deciding on the future course of their action.
The issue of police brutality on Patels on August 25-26 in 2015 after the Patidar reservation rally was also discussed in the meeting. Solanki said that the Congress government would form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the violence , and would also take necessary action against the guilty officials.
The Opposition party, which is looking to break is 22-year losing streak in Gujarat in the coming elections, also assured the PAAS delegation that its government would provide Rs35 lakh assistance to kin of Patels who died in the police violence. In response to jobs to the kin of the dead, the party leaders said that it would try to provide jobs to them in line with their educational qualifications.
Another issue that was discussed was related to the Commission for communities that do not get reservation benefits. The PAAS leaders said that while the state government has already formed a Commission, only a GR and notification have been issued about it. The Congress leaders assured to provide Constitutional shape to the Commission, and also said that Rs2,000 crore would be allocated for the body.
The reservation issue, over which Patidars have been agitation for well over two years now, was discussed for over 1.5 hours, said Kathiria. They deliberated on how other states have carved out quotas in government jobs and higher education for unreserved communities, and if the same canbe replicated in Gujarat.
"We had good discussions on this issue, but we have decided to hold another meeting soon," Siddharth Patel said.
Talking to reporters, Bharatsinh Solanki denied that there was match-fixing between Congress and PAAS, saying that in such a case "PAAS would have extended support to Rahul Gandhi's rally."
Solanki also said that a number of issues that concern people of Gujarat would find a place in the party's poll manifesto.
Key Agreements
- Congress agrees to form SIT to look into police brutalities on Patels in August 2015
- To provide Rs35 lakh financial assistance to kin of dead
- Government jobs as per their educational qualifications
- Constitutional status to Commission for unreserved communities and Rs2,000 crore allocation
- PAAS not to protest during Rahul Gandhi's rally in Surat on November 3, not to support it either
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