JOIN USThe Gujarat government on Saturday lifted the curfew from the violence-hit parts of the state for the occasion of ‘Raksha Bandhan’.
The Army columns that were brought in to control the situation, too, were expected to be withdrawn on Sunday, even as the ban on the social media and internet would continue till Monday.
Additional Director General of Police PP Pandey said the curfew had been lifted from across Gujarat as there were no reports of violence from any quarters. In fact, the curfew was lifted from most parts of the state on Friday, barring six areas in Ahmedabad that saw curfew being lifted from 5:00 am on Saturday.
The curfew was clamped in these areas from Tuesday night following widespread violence across the state that led to the death of about nine people.
The agitating Patels came on the streets on Tuesday night after the arrest of 22-year-old Hardik Patel, convenor of the Patel Anamat Anadolan Samiti (PAAS) seeking reservations for the Patels.
Ahmedabad, the state’s commercial capital, witnessed normal traffic, with all routes of Bus Rapid Transport System and city bus services functioning normally.
All the commercial establishments and shopping malls witnessed heavy rush in the wake of the Raksha Bandhan. Peace prevailed across the state, including in Surat, Baroda, Rajkot, Junagadh, Jamnagar and Morbi.
Hardik in Delhi today
Meanwhile, Patel is expected to visit New Delhi on Sunday where he will meet leaders of seven different states.
According to him, the Patidars have considerable population in those seven Indian states.
During the rally on August 25, the 22-year-old had hinted at taking the quota stir nationwide by saying that while there are 1.18 crore Patidars in Gujarat, their total population in the country stood at 27 crore.
In the afternoon, Patel leaders including the representative of PAAS, Dinesh Patel, is learnt to have met Gujarat’s health minister Nitin Patel and submitted a memorandum seeking action against the errant policemen and pressing for reservation.