Ahmedabad: Gujarat Government on Monday announced it will start a fresh round of negotiations with the Patel quota agitation leaders from the next week.
Health Minister Nitin Patel, who heads a committee of ministers set up by the Government to negotiate with Patel groups seeking reservation under the OBC category, made the announcement today.
Patel and other ministers today met the Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and handed over a report on roadmap to arrive at a compromise formula with Patel groups including the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) led by Hardik Patel and Sardar Patel Group (SPG) led by Lalji Patel.
Patel later told media persons that Government will try its best to see that the agitation ends as early as possible.
"In our meeting with the CM, it was decided that the committee will now invite the mediators for further discussion. These mediators will be called within a week. We will convey Government's view to them so that they can discuss it with PAAS and SPG leaders," said Patel.
"After our meeting with the mediators we will call PAAS and SPG leaders for discussion."
The Government recently appointed some prominent Patel leaders including the BJP MP Vitthal Radadiya as mediators.
"Apart from the demand of reservation, there were many other demands in the letters given to us by PAAS and SPG, a month ago. The committee discussed all of them at length with the CM today," said Nitin Patel.
SPG chief Lalji Patel handed over a memorandum of 27 demands last month to the CM. The jailed PAAS leader Hardik Patel also sent a 27-point charter to the CM.
Some of the key demands are reservations for Patel community, release of jailed leaders and withdrawal of cases against them, and action against the police officers who allegedly committed atrocities on members of the community during the agitation last year.
