Hardik Patel tuns 26, says "fight must go on"

Using his 26th birthday as an opportunity to meet his supporters, Patidar leader and Congressman Hardik Patel on Saturday said that "fight against the BJP will have to be continued for justice for 6 crore Gujaratis."

Citing incidents of Surat fire that killed 22 students and a recent mishap at Kankaria amusement park where two persons were killed when a joyride collapsed as examples of government's negligence, Hardik said that the government did not take any solid steps despite the loss of lives.

Hardik, who turned 26 on Saturday, organised a meet at the town hall in Gandhinagar, where Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh and All India Congress Committee spokesperson and in-charge of Bihar Shaktisinh Gohil were present along with several thousand supporters.

Hardik told the gathering, "The BJP won all the 26 Lok Sabha seats yet farmers are committing suicide. Farmers are in deep distress but the government is not listening." He said that in the past two years, the government permitted opening of only one government-run medical college but it granted permission to 40 private colleges, making education costlier.

Attacking the government, he said that everyone except billionaires was under stress and all the billionaires were joining the government. He added that it was only after his fight for a reservation that compelled the central government to extend 10% reservation to upper caste poor.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh criticised the Central government for not allowing his party to run the government smoothly. He said that instead of praising Delhi government's initiatives in providing medical and education effectively, the BJP government sends "daroga" (police) to the house of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Hardik's wife Kinjal was also present. In her brief speech, she said that "Hardik will not bow down before the government. My husband is a fighter."