'Gujjar leader Bainsla to attend Patel rally over quota issue'

Ahmedabad, Aug 22: Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla will attend the mega-rally organised by the Patel community to press the demand of reservations under the OBC category here next week, said one of the community leaders.

Bainsla had led the Gujjar agitation for five per cent reservations in Rajasthan.

"Colonel Bainsla has confirmed that he will participate in our rally here at GMDC ground on August 25 to show his solidarity with Patels," said Hardik Patel, convener of 'Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti', umbrella organisation of Patel groups.

Gujjars and Patels "are brothers" and would support the cause of getting OBC status for each other, he said.

The Gujjar community had undertaken a major agitation seeking reservations in 2008 under the banner of 'Gujjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti'.

The community got one per cent reservation after a legal battle, while the issue of balance quota is pending resolution. In May this year, Gujjars resumed the agitation.

Hardik Patel also told the reporters here that around one lakh people belonging to Kurmi, Gujjar and Patel communities from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh will also attend the rally on August 25.

The agitation will be taken up all across the country and they had been getting support of community members from seven states, he claimed. Patels have held 137 rallies in Gujarat so far.

PTI