Patna: Gujarat Patidar leader Hardik Patel took a dig at chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday, saying chacha (uncle) did not invite him for a meeting out of fear that the BJP will cold-shoulder him. He also appealed for the unity of Kurmi, Dhanuk and Kushwaha castes and asserted that nobody will be able to face them if it happens.
" Chacha, why are you afraid of me?" Hardik questioned and added: "Had he called me, I would have certainly gone to meet him. But had he invited me, those above him (read the BJP) would have scolded him."
Hardik remembered the last time he had met Nitish, both of them had been on the same path to save the country and the Constitution from destructive forces. "But I don't know what happened afterwards and he (Nitish) changed his track, while I kept on the path we had taken," he added.
The Patidar leader was speaking at a Patel Awareness Conference where he was chief guest. It was organised by a newly cobbled front - Sardar Patel Jagrukta Manch - and presided over by Sanjay Patel from Vaishali district. Patels are identified with the Kurmi caste, the same to which Nitish belongs.
Attacking Nitish further, Hardik alleged that several vehicles carrying people who wanted to attend the conference were stopped on the outskirts of the city and the government machinery was at work to ensure people did not attend the programme.
This was Hardik's second visit to Patna. The last time he was here was in December 2016 while agitating for reservation for Patidars. He had come to solicit Nitish's support and was accorded VIP treatment with full security paraphernalia. Right after landing at the airport he was taken to the chief minister's residence at that time. This time around, the VIP trappings were missing though a couple of armed and a few unarmed policemen were attached with Hardik for security. He himself had hired around 10 bodyguards of a private agency.
The Gujarat leader said his name was "Kurmi, Kushwaha Dhanuk Hardik Patel" and asserted that these three castes made up 12 per cent of Bihar's 11 crore population and pointed that they did not have 12 per cent reservation.
"Nobody will able to face us if the three castes unite. We need to spread awareness about the importance of being united. Way back in 1994, there was a Kurmi Chetana Rally at Gandhi Maidan here, which showed the strength of the Kurmis. Lots of leaders emerged from it and many of them became ministers," Hardik said.
"The Kurmis whisper that the chief minister is from their caste, but what is their socio-political and economic condition? If there is a rotten mango in a box full of mangoes, it should be thrown out," Hardik added.
The Gujarati leader argued that "politics of caste" wasn't a bad thing as the country was made of castes, and if castes become strong, the nation will become strong.
Asserting that he was opposed to the state government and not to Nitish, the Patidar leader challenged the Bihar chief minister to take forward the demand for special category status to Bihar with vigour.
"If Nitish fights for special category status for Bihar and tells the Centre to give it else he will not be in the alliance, the entire population of Bihar and I will come forward in his support. But if the fight is for being the face of the people, then nobody will be with him," Hardik added.
The leader also talked about the bad condition of farmers in the country and asked why those who manufacture TV, fridge, air conditioners and cellphones are billionaires, but those who produce food are poor. He pointed that people can survive without air conditioners, but cannot live without food, hence it was imperative to improve the condition of farmers.
Hardik said he will not heed even his father when it boiled down to "truth" and asserted that "any chief minister or Prime Minister had no value for him".
Speaking on the occasion, he did not spare top central leaders, and reminded that due to his steadfastness on the path of truth and reality, the Patidars of Gujarat rallied behind him, which led to "the two goondas to spend a month in Gujarat during the elections and ultimately bite the dust".
"People in Gujarat stuck with me because I was innocent and on the path of truth. On the other hand, they had grabbed the power by indulging in 12 to 15 encounters and murder of thousands of people," Hardik added.
The young leader also vowed that he will stay in Bihar for a month on his next visit, travel to villages across the state and fill Gandhi Maidan in Patna with people, "else I will not call myself a son of Patel."
