PAAS leaders hint at separate quota for Patidars after meeting with Sibal

Members of Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) said that the meeting with senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal was satisfactory and stressed that the final decision on quota will be taken after having consultation with Hardik, legal experts and office-bearers of key religious and social organisations.

Congress gave three options to the Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) at a late night meeting with respect to latter's quota demand for its community, even as the organisation members said they would consult their leaders and legal experts before taking a decision.

The options were conveyed to the PAAS members by senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal at the meeting which took place at 11:30 PM and ended at about 2 AM.

"We have been given three options by the Congress party on how to provide reservation to our community in educational institutions and government jobs," PAAS convener Dinesh Bambhania said after the meeting.

He, however, did not divulge the details of the options.

"The options that have been given will be kept confidential till we discuss it with Hardik, social leaders of the community, legal experts and then it would be kept before our community. If the community accepts the demand, we will convey it accordingly to the Congress party," Bambhania said.

He said, "The Congress proposal has not touched 49 per cent reservations for SC, ST and OBC which exists in the state. The options that have been given are over and above it." The PAAS convener said the meeting took place in a "very cordial atmosphere".

"We have rejected the Congress' reservation offer under the Economically Backward Class as it is not constitutionally valid," Bambhania said.

Sibal, after the meeting, told a press conference that "today's meeting between Congress leaders and PAAS has brought hope that something can be worked out." "We have discussed all the aspects and will do all the things (to provide reservation to the Patidar community) as per the constitution," the Congress leader said.

He said they would again meet in the next two-three days.

"We expect that the matter will become clear in two to three days," he added.

The PAAS members met Sibal to discuss modalities of providing reservation to Patidars if voted to power in the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat.

The meeting was scheduled at 9 pm but Sibal reached the venue late.

Hardik, the Patidar quota agitation spearhead, who had earlier set a condition that he would support the Congress in the Assembly election, due next month, only if the party committed itself to allotting reservation in education and government jobs to his community, was not present in the meeting.

He had set November 7 as the deadline for the Congress to make its stand clear on the issue.

PTI