Gujarat: BJP Offered Rs 1 Crore to Join Party, Alleges Hardik Patel’s Aide; Another ‘Upset’ Leader Also Resigns Saffron Party

Patidar agitation leader in Gujarat Narendra Patel who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday along with Varun Patel and Reshma Patel made a sensational claim that he was paid Rs 1 crore by the saffron party to break away from Hardik Patel to join the ruling party in the state.

He called a press conference in Ahmedabad on late Sunday night and presented Rs 10 lakh he allegedly received as “token amount” from the BJP. The convenor of the Hardik Patel’s Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) claimed he created a “drama” of joining the BJP to “expose” the party and Varun Patel and Reshma Patel ahead of the assembly polls in the state.

“Varun Patel took me to a meeting where I was given Rs 10 lakh with a promise of Rs 90 lakhs tomorrow. This is corruption money and not something I have earned through hard work. So, I will be returning this money. I had joined the movement for the Patidar community, not to face the insult by the government,” he told the media.
 

He said he will release the audio tape of the sting that he carried out on Varun on Monday. While the BJP has not reacted, Varun Patel said that there was no truth in the allegation adding that Narendra Patel ought to have gone to the media after taking Rs 1 crore.

Both Varun and Reshma were among the prominent faces of the PAAS and remained critical of the ruling BJP during the agitation.

They reportedly joined the BJP after a meeting with Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and State party chief Jitu Vaghani during its parliamentary board meeting, which was also attended by BJP President Amit Shah.

They had joined the BJP on the day popular Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader Alpesh Thakor had announced his intention to join the Congress party. He will join the party at a rally in Gandhinagar in presence of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Sources said Congress state chief Bharatsinh Solanki has invited Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani and Thakor to join the party to “ensure defeat of the ruling BJP”.

The BJP rubbished the allegation levelled against it by Narendra Patel as a “conspiracy” hatched by the Congress.

“Narendra Patel should have taken the entire Rs 1 crore, which he claims he was offered by the BJP, and then gone to the media. Why did he just take Rs 10 lakhs? Is he that crazy?” Varun Patel shot back, alleging a Congress conspiracy because it is “scared as Patels are moving towards the BJP and no Patel will attend Rahul Gandhi’s rally on Monday”.

State BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said, “First, he (Narendra Patel) came out and declared he is joining the BJP. After 2-3 hours, he does this drama.... The Congress cannot sway Gujarat's people with this kind of drama.”

Meanwhile, Narendra Patel's allegation led to another former member of their group to quit the BJP. Nikhil Sawani, Patel leader from Surat, had joined the BJP along with 150 associates last month. He told the media on Monday, “I heard that the BJP had offered Rs 1 crore to Narendra Patel. I am upset. I am leaving the BJP today.”

“I congratulate Narendra Patel for his daring step. He comes from a small family but still he refused to accept the bribe of Rs 1 crore the BJP offered to him,” Nikhil told the media, adding that he was not offered money to join the BJP.

“I was not offered money to join the BJP. Now, I have resigned because they are just offering lollipops and fulfilling nothing,” he said.

He has reportedly sought an appointment with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Jignesh Mevani, who has taken on the BJP government over attacks on Dalits is scheduled to meet Gandhi today.

Gandhi has reportedly invited Hardik Patel too for talks. Rahul Gandhi is leaving no stone unturned to woo Patels. He is promising to fulfil their demands if his party returns to power in Gujarat, which has been ruled by the BJP for the last two decades. The Patels have supported the BJP for years but have been upset recently over the benefits of reservation not being extended to them.

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