Hardik Patel, this morning, said that the Congress was a communal party that had blatant hatred towards Gujarat and as such were against industrialists like Ambani and Adani as well as Mehul Chinubhai Choksi. Patel made these claims in Ahmedabad while addressing his first press conference, after resigning from the Congress party just the other day. He slammed the Gujarat Congress and the top leadership, saying that despite many attempts, he was never allowed to work for the betterment of the people, and neither did the party ever take up the concerns of the people of the state.
Patel, the one who led the Patidar movement, said that he was given the title of working president of the party in the state but it was a faux. He was never given any responsibilities or permissions to carry out activities that he wanted to. “A working president was a cosmetic position. It is not just me but there are several Hardik Patels who are used and thrown. This is Congress history. From Chimanbhai Patel in 1972 to Radadiya to Narhari Amin, this is what Congress does,” he said.
Patel further said that following the Patidar movement, he joined Congress with great hope, thinking that a strong opposition will speak for the people of the state and bring to light their concerns. He said, “I have fought for the right of my community, my people. I joined Congress with the hope that a constructive opposition will be able to work sincerely. From 2019 to 2022, I understood Congress that it was a very communal party.”
The Patidar leader said that Congress always suppressed him and many others like him. “Whenever you try to tell the truth, the party will sabotage you. Despite my appeals, Congress never let me organise a press conference to address issues for youth or that of the paper leak. Congress party in Gujarat is a facade,” he said.
Furthermore, Patel said that Congress seriously needs to self-reflect regarding its operations and strategies. He took a jibe at state leadership, saying that they were more interested in entertaining Rahul Gandhi than to discuss strategies and take serious decisions. He said, “When Rahul Gandhi would come to the state, instead of chalking out issues to be discussed with him, our senior leaders would be busy organising chicken-sandwich and Diet-Coke for him!”
Saying that the party needs to go to the ground level and reconnect with people, Patel said, “Congress doesn’t need to sit in Udaipur and conduct Chintan Shivir, they don’t need to sit in air-conditioned cabins, they need to go out to people”
Hardik Patel said that Congress doesn’t need to do ‘Chintan’ but have ‘Chinta’ over what comes next for them. He said that its not just Gujarat that the party needs to worry about. “Congress needs to carry out serious introspection on why Himanta Biswa, JM Scindia, Amarinder Singh, Sunil Jakhar and several others quit Congress.”
In an emotional speech, Hardik Patel said that he was proud of leaving the Congress party, and hopes for a future where he is able to work for the welfare of the people. He said that he will work to accomplish all the tasks in support of the people of Gujarat that he hasn’t been able to do in the past three years.
