Patidar leaders stay neutral to Rahul Gandhi's tour of Gujarat

GANDHINAGAR: Leaders of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti ( PAAS) on Monday said they will neither support nor oppose Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Gujarat, spelling a breather for the Congress there.

PAAS convenor Hardik Patel had earlier issued an ultimatum to the Congress to clear its stance on the reservation issue before November 3, when Gandhi is scheduled to hold a mega rally in Surat.

On Monday, a delegation of PAAS convenors met the state Congress leadership over the reservation issue. Both Congress and PAAS described the meeting as positive and said there will follow-up.

Speaking to the media, senior Congress leader Siddharth Patel said the party has agreed to four basic issues raised by PAAS. Patel said the Congress has agreed to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe police action against the Patidars at GMDC ground on August 25, 2015 and thereafter.

“The government had formed a SIT which looked into some specific cases and submitted a report as if nothing happened,” Patel said. Further, the Congress has agreed to provide relief up to Rs 35 lakh to families that were bereaved in police action during the Patidar agitation once voted to power and provide government jobs to a member from these families.

Patel further said that the party has agreed to create a Savarna Aayog with allocation of Rs 2,000 core with constitutional validity.

On reservation issue, Patel said that Congress will study the issue with total political will and consult constitutional experts and hold another meeting with the PAAS on the same.