Hardik Patel rules out compromise with Gujarat govt

Ahmedabad, Jan 19: Miffed by the three charge sheets filed against him by the police this month, the jailed leader of Patel quota agitation, Hardik Patel, on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of compromise with the Gujarat government.

The government was encouraging Naxalism by implicating him and other Patel leaders, he told media persons outside Kathor court in Surat.

Surat police today submitted a 44-page charge sheet against him and nine others in a case related to blockade of highway near Kamrej on October 18.

"There is no question of compromise when charge sheet is filed...this government is encouraging Naxalism," he said before the police took him away. Hardik, who is facing two sedition cases, is lodged in Lajpore jail in Surat.

On October 18, after Hardik was detained ahead of the India-South Africa cricket match in Rajkot, some of his aides including Surat convener of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti Alpesh Kathiria allegedly blocked the national highway in protest at Kamrej on the outskirts of Surat.

Police later added Hardik's name to FIR alleging that before he was detained he had given instructions to PAAS leaders on phone to disrupt the traffic.

Yesterday, Ahmedabad crime branch submitted charge sheet against Hardik and three others in the sedition case filed here, while on January 8, Surat police filed a charge sheet against Hardik in another sedition case.

Meanwhile, another letter of Hardik surfaced today where he asked the Patel leaders who are talking with the government to find a compromise formula to be on the community's side.

Some selfish leaders were using the community for their personal gains, he said. He also told reporters outside the court that "some leaders are harming our community".

Hardik's lawyers have withdrawn his bail plea from High Court, related to the sedition case in Surat, as it became infructuous after the police filed a charge sheet.

PTI