Hardik Patel addresses a press conference after resigning from Congress on Wednesday, in Ahmedabad, Thursday, May 19, 2022.
Highlights
- Hardik Patel came into the limelight after he led Patidar quota stir in Gujarat ahead of 2017 polls
- He resigned days after Rahul Gandhi's Gujarat visit where polls will be held later this year
- Sources told India TV that Hardik Patel could join the BJP in a week
Hardik Patel, who has quit the Congress just ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls, has accused the grand old party of constantly 'abusing' the country's top industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. Hardik said that these industrialists have advanced through hard work and they cannot be targetted just because the Prime Minister's home state is Gujarat.
"A businessman rises due to his or her own hard work. You can't abuse Adani or Ambani every time. If PM is from Gujarat, then why take out your anger about this on Ambani and Adani? This was just a way to mislead people," news agency ANI quoted Hardik as saying.
'Felt ignored in Congress'
Hardik said that he decided to resign from Congress as he felt 'ignored'. Stating that he 'wasted three years of his political life in the Congress', he said, "I am thankful to Congress for making me the working president for Gujarat. But what was the use when you are not given any work? I didn't get opportunity to work while in the party...the party didn't give me any work."
"When Rahul comes to Gujarat, he did not talk about the problem faced by the people of Gujarat. Party leaders are busy arranging chicken sandwiches and Diet Coke for Rahul Gandhi. There are talks in the party that people will vote for Congress when they get bored with the other party," the former Gujarat Congress working president said.
"I decided to leave the party not with sadness but with courage," the 28-year-old Patidar leader said.
He said that "it's not only Hardik who is angry with Congress" in Gujarat. "There are many leaders and legislators in Gujarat who just use Congress. Sitting in power and praising the party does not mean that the party will make them Chief Minister," he said, adding that Gujarat Congress leaders tried to disrupt his political efforts while 'sitting in AC chambers'.
Hardik Patel came into the limelight after he led the Patidar quota stir in 2015. Hardik joined the Congress in 2019 despite his public promise of not entering politics. He was appointed as the working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) in July 2020.
Hardik's resignation from Congress has now triggered talks in the political fraternity about whether he will join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or side with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the Assembly polls due by the year-end. If sources are to be believed, Hardik is in touch with senior BJP functionaries in the state and that he could join the saffron party in a week.
