Hardik detained, not granted permission to hold press meet

Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel and nine of his associates were on Thursday detained while trying to protest outside a religious trust.

Hardik sought entry into the trust to hold a press conference on the attack on his close aide,  Dinesh Bhamaniya.

His outfit Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) claimed that activists of the ruling BJP attacked Bhamaniya with weapons late on Wednesday night in Ahmedabad. The attackers also destroyed the car he was travelling in. An injured Bhamaniya was hospitalised later.

On Thursday, employees and trustees of Umiyadham Trust, where Hardik was to hold the press conference, locked up the premises and vanished before he could arrive with his supporters.

The police were present in a sizeable number at the trust premises to uphold law and order. “The venue belongs to our community and we have paid an advance to hold the event,” Hardik told the media gathered outside the building.

“Police say that the trustees have informed them that permission has been cancelled. But we were not informed in writing. How can police prevent us from entering our own community premises,” he asked.

Hardik said he was disallowed from holding the event due to pressure from the ruling BJP. Hardik, who spearheaded the agitation for quota for the Patel community in educational institutions and government jobs, has announced that he would hold the next phase of his protest from August 5.

PAAS said it would hold a mega gathering of its convenors from 7,000 villages across the state at the same venue in Ahmedabad on Saturday. The leaders would chalk out the plan for the future course of action.