Gujarat govt can’t protect deputy CM, how will it protect public: Hardik Patel

Hardik further claimed that the “truth” has come out that the attacker was a BJP worker. Patidar leader, who was addressing a packed audience in Sadhli area of Karjan, said that he was “not surprised” that a slipper was hurled at Nitin Patel but described the incident as “shameful’.

“It is shameful that such a thing happened in police presence to a deputy chief minister. It is shameful that the Vadodara Superintendent of Police has said that the accused is a Congress worker. This morning, the entire truth came out and he turned out to be a BJP worker on election records,” he said.

“There is nothing surprising or new about the slipper being hurled at Nitin Patel, but what is shameful is that if the Rupani government cannot protect its own deputy chief minister, how will it protect the common people, the farmers? How will the BJP protect women and my sisters? How will the BJP provide jobs to the youth?” asked Hardik.

Speaking about the defection of Akshay Patel to the BJP, who resigned as a Congress MLA in June this year ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, Hardik said, “Akshay Patel did not sell himself to the BJP, he has sold you —the voters. He has sold your aspirations. He has sold the farmer brothers, the poor and the Gujarat of Gandhi and Sardar to the BJP. I have come here to ask you whether he came to you during his tenure as MLA since 2017. If not, then do you think he will come here and address your issues when he is with those in power?”

Hardik also referred to the Intelligence reports pointing at a poor show for the BJP in three of the eight constituencies going to polls, including Karjan, and said, “While I was coming here today, a policeman asked me where I was going. When I told him that I am going to Karjan for the election campaign, he told me, ‘Hardikbhai why are you even wasting your time. The Intelligence report has clearly stated that Karjan constituency will be with the Congress.’”

Hardik urged the voters to “hurl stones” at the candidate if he fails to stand with them in the hour of need. He said, “He (Jadeja) will fight for you and to bring the water of the Narmada to you. I am assuring you that he will be with you whenever you need. If not, then you must pick up a stone and throw at him. I also urge everyone that there is no Patidar, no Kshatriya, no Dalit, no Vishwakarma and no Brahmin here. We have to come together to build Gujarat.”

Hardik also asked the crowd if any of them got even one rupee as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’Rs 20,000-crore relief package amid the Covid-19 crisis. “The upcoming election is a replay of Ramayana, where Lord Ram annihilated Ravan. We have to annihilate the BJP by crushing its arrogance,” he added.