Patidar leader Narendra Patel says he was offered Rs 1 crore to join party

Following this, Narendra Patel went on to say, Varun Patel took him aside and made a Rs 1-crore deal to get him to join the party.

In a a major twist in the tale, Narendra Patel, a local convenor of the Hardik Patel's Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, has alleged that he was offered Rs 1 crore to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The claim is sensational as it came just a few hours after he had joined the BJP in the presence of prominent leaders.

Patel however changed his tune at a late night presser in Ahmedabad. He said that was made to say that he was joining the BJP after he was offered Rs 1 crore. He said that he was given a Rs 10 lakh advance on Sunday itself and the remaining Rs 90 lakh would be paid to him on Monday, he was assured.

He detailed how and when he was made the Rs 1-crore offer and said that Varun Patel, another Patidar leader, was involved in the efforts to win his support.

Varun Patel was a key aide of Hardik Patel, who spearheaded the Patidar reservation movement. Varun along with Reshma Patel, another former Hardik Patel aide, joined the BJP earlier this weekend.

He claimed that the deal was made by Varun Patel on behalf of the BJP. I was called to Ahmedabad first and then taken to Gandhinagar. In Gandhinagar, I was driven around for a while and then taken to an office in nearby Adalaj, Narendra Patel claimed. "There, I was introduced to several BJP leaders, including Jitubhai Vaghani and Chudasmasaheb," Patel also said.

Varun then took me aside and made the Rs 1 crore offer to join the BJP. He told me to take Rs 10 lakh first and then said that the remaining money would be given to me at a BJP function on Monday. I felt that what the BJP was doing was wrong. The Patel community is being betrayed, he also said while stating that this is why he decided to speak out.

Meanwhile Varun Patel while reacting to the allegations said that they were false. Why did he not conduct the press conference with Rs 1 crore on the table. He took only Rs 10 lakh to the press conference, Patel also said. He accused the Congress of playing this game. The Patidar community is with the BJP, he also said.

OneIndia News