Medha Patkar not allowed to meet Hardik

Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar faced stiff opposition when she arrived to meet Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel, whose indefinite fast has entered the eighth day, at his house.

Medha was heckled and slogans were raised against her by people present there.

Dubbing her anti-farmer and anti-Gujarat for her stand against the project that has been dubbed as ‘Lifeline of Gujarat’, Hardik’s supporters prevented her from entering the premises.

With tempers rising, one of the close associates of Hardik, Manoj Panara, requested her to return without meeting Hardik. Though she dropped the idea of meeting Hardik, she insisted that she had reached the venue on Hardik's invitation. Two of her close associates and veterans Jyotibhai Desai and Danielbhai later met Hardik.

“Hardikbhai should know that if his kidneys are affected during the fast due to lack of water, it would be difficult to take the fight to its logical conclusion,” Medha told reporters.

“I have come to support Hardikbhai’s demands for farmers. We have an alliance of 200 farmer unions demanding total debt waiver and right price for their produce.”

Meanwhile, Panara said that no invite had gone to Medha and that she had come on her own volition. “She had called to ask about his well-being. There was no talk about her visiting the venue in person,” Manoj said.

Other than Medha, Gujarat Congress chief Amit Chavda too called on Hardik and extended his support.

Meanwhile, Hardik, who had stopped taking water for the past two days, on Saturday began sipping water after a religious leader's advice. The insistence came after a medical check-up revealed that the ratio of sodium and potassium in Hardik's body had been disturbed and there was a rise in acetone level in his blood, which could adversely affect his kidneys.