Congress biggest Casteist party, says Hardik Patel day after resignation

New Delhi, May 19: A day after tendering his resignation, former Gujarat Congress leader Hardik Patel in a press conference slammed the party and called it the 'biggest casteist party'. Patel - who rose to prominence after leading the Patidar community's agitation for reservation in 2015 - said he had not decided yet which party to join in the future, but would announce once he made the decision.

While addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad, the Patidar leader said Congress is the biggest casteist party and accused the state unit's executive chairman of not assigning him any duties.

''In Gujarat, whether it's the Patidar community or any other community, they have had to suffer in Congress. Speak the truth in Congress and big leaders will defame you and that is their strategy.''

The former Congress leader said the party had never done 'solution politics' only 'opposition politics'.

''In Gujarat, it's not only Hardik who is angry with Congress. There are many leaders & legislators in Gujarat who use Congress. Sitting in power and praising the party does not mean that the party can make them the CM: Hardik Patel, in Ahmedabad after resigning from Congress y'day

According to Patel,''7-8 people have been running the Congress for 33 years. Activists like me travel 500-600 km daily. If I go among the people and try to know their situation, the big leaders here try to disrupt this effort by sitting in the AC chambers.''

He also alleged that there discussions within the party that people would vote for Congress when they got bored. ''There are discussions in party that people will vote for Congress when they get bored. I had spoken to Rahul & Priyanka Gandhi & mentioned Gujarat's problems. He asked me & I told him. That's when I was ignored. I decided to leave party not with sadness but courage,'' he said.

Patel, 28, quit the Congress yesterday after weeks of public criticism and ripped into the GOP as he did so; '(they) were not interested in problems of people of Gujarat... more focussed on ensuring chicken sandwich for leaders from Delhi', Patel wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi.

Soon after Hardik Patel quit the Congress on Wednesday, the opposition party alleged that the BJP has "lured" the Patidar leader by promising to get cases against him withdrawn and has "scripted" his resignation letter.