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Hardik seeks to bat for quotas, farmers, youth; Mevani forms Muslim-Dalit front

Last Updated 19 March 2018, 15:11 IST

After relative agitation-hibernation post Gujarat Assembly elections  and installation of BJP government in the state, Patel quota stir leader Hardik Patel now plans to re-start his on-ground activity by way of one more yatra.

Hardik now plans to hold Gujarat Janjagruti Yatra  (People's awareness March) across 26 of 33 districts in the state to create awareness on agrarian crisis amidst farmers, unemployment among youth, along with his key demand seeking quotas for Patels on the lines of OBC reservations.

The yatra, slated to begin from Junagadh before June, would traverse through rural Gujarat and inform people about the poor policies and flawed governance of BJP in the state, Hardik said in a statement. "The aim of this march is to spread awareness among masses and to make them aware about their constitutional rights." he said.

Beginning with yatra, Hardik hopes to launch series of programmes till forthcoming Parliamentary polls of 2019. Hardik, who turns 25 just before the Lok Sabha polls next year, is tipped to follow other two young leaders – OBC leader Alpesh Thakor and dalit leader Jignesh Mevani – who jumped into electoral fray last year. While both these young leaders have made it to Gujarat Legislative Assembly as legislators, Hardik is said to be eyeing a national role for himself.

Dalit-Muslim Manch

Meanwhile, Jignesh Mevani, who won from Vadgaam constituency in North Gujarat as an independent candidate with support from Congress, has announced a confederation of various Scheduled Castes and Muslim organisations – Dalit-Muslim Ekta Manch - to "uproot the facist forces ruling the country for last four years".

Mevani eventually hopes to expand his confederation nationally as a Dalit, Adivasi, Muslim Dal. "I want to be the voice of every Dalit, Muslim, tribal and  anybody who is a victim of a fascist administration and I urge the people to extract all possible service from me during my five-year term as a legislator," he stated.

He stated that the people in the state "Are yearning for a revolution, and this Manch will bring this revolution. We want that this revolution  doesn't stay limited to the city but moves across the entire state and then the nation."

Non-reserved

In a related incident, Congress party chief whip in Gujarat Assembly, Amit Chavda, on Monday made a demand to provide 20% quotas for the non-reserved category communities in government jobs and educational institutions. He said this during a discussion in the House on budgetary allocation for social welfare. Congress had made this its political plank in the last Assembly polls.

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(Published 19 March 2018, 14:56 IST)

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