If Marathas can get reservation, why not Patidars: Hardik

With the Maharashtra legislature passing a bill giving 16 per cent reservation to the Marathas, Patidar leader Hardik Patel asked Thursday why the BJP government in Gujarat can not take the same step for his community.

He sought a survey to establish social and economic backwardness of Patidars, on the lines of a survey ordered by the BJP-led Maharashtra government for the Maratha community.

"No such survey was done in Gujarat. The survey would prove that Patidar community is socially and economically backward," Patel told reporters at Patan in north Gujarat.

"If the BJP government in Maharashtra can do that, then why not Gujarat? Is that because the BJP government here is having ego issues?" he asked.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) held another meeting with chairman of the Gujarat OBC Commission Sugnaben Bhatt in Gandhinagar Thursday.

A week ago, Patel and other PAAS leaders had met Bhatt and demanded that the commission conduct a survey of the Patidar (Patel) community on the lins of the survey conducted by Backward Class Commission for the Marathas in Maharashtra.

PAAS convener Geeta Patel, who was part of the delegation which called on Bhatt Thursday, said Bhatt sought some basic information about the community in Gujarat.

"She sought information such as number of sub-castes, sub-groups and various surnames used by Patidars. The chairman also sought to know the population of our community," she said.

PAAS delegation sought two weeks to furnish these details, she said.

Meanwhile, some members of the Rajput community also approached the commission Thursday with a demand for a survey to establish their backwardness.