Patidar leader returns from Congress to BJP – The Indian Express

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Patidar community Dhiru Gajera, who joined Congress in 2007, came back to BJP during an event organized in Surat city BJP office in Udhna area.

Addressing a gathering during the event, Dhiru Gajera said, “On June 11, 2007, over 2 lakh people including 30 MLAs gathered at J D Dharukawala college in Varachha to revolt against Narendra Modi and Amit Shah… The party in the state was divided into two groups. We fought against the leadership of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah but we failed. Those 30 MLAs who had left BJP were given tickets by Congress in the 2007 Assembly election…”

“It was the same leaders, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, who gained the trust of the people of Gujarat… The rise of the BJP from panchayat to parliament is through its strong leadership of both these leaders,” Gajera said adding that the ideology of BJP is “in his blood”.

Gajera during the event, vowed to his holy deity Ramapir and said, “I will not take out the scarf of BJP hanging around my neck, till my last breath.”

Addressing the gathering, BJP state president C R Paatil said, “One good thing about Dhirubhai is that he is genuine, and we have not come across incidents about him taking money from people. Because of this nature, many people took benefit of him.”

Lauding the Prime Minister for the Covid-19 lockdown, Paatil said, “In the first phase of the pandemic, the deaths were controlled across the country. Even during the lockdown, he (Narendra Modi) had made arrangements in such a way that for ten months, 80 crore people recieved free ration.”

He also said that the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “does not have the power to take such quick decisions and implement them”.

In a veiled attack at the Aam Aadmi Party, Paatil said, “A Patidar man is someone who walks the ground with a wooden stick in one hand and a torchlight in the other, going to the agricultural fields. In place of wooden stick, a broom does not suit the people of the Patidar community. If somebody comes and tells you that things will be given to you for free, don’t accept it. People of Gujarat believe in hard work.”