Delhi told: Modi detractors in Gujarat BJP close to ex-CM Keshubhai Patel behind Patidar reservation stir

Patidar leader Hardik Patel, 22

By Rajiv Shah
A well-informed official source close to the establishment has conveyed to the Government of India, particularly the Prime Minister’s Office and the intelligence-gathering network working for it, that Narendra Modi’s former detractors in Gujarat BJP are behind the current Patidar (or Patel) caste stir for reservation that has engulfed the state.
The source has told Counterview on condition of anonymity that, in the report, sent to Delhi, it has been “specifically mentioned that circles to top Modi detractor and his predecessor in Gujarat, ex-chief minister Keshubhai Patel” were backing the Patels’ well-represented rallies, whether it is North Gujarat towns, or Surat, or Ahmedabad.
The source said, the report sent to Delhi “specifically mentions” a few of the names of diamond tycoons of Surat, belonging to the Patel community, who had been close to Keshubhai Patel’s earlier anti-Modi movements and have been funding his supporters even now.
It is well known that these diamond tycoons, belonging to Amreli district of the Saurashtra region and settled in Surat, had all along strongly supported Keshubhai Patel in organizing an aborted Patel farmers’ movement during the second half of 2000s.
The report has been sent even as political circles, both of the BJP and the Congress, are keeping their fingers crossed as to who is behind the Patidar reservation stir. While maintaining that the entire movement is spontaneous, there is a sense of frustration: That the the stir has metamorphosed into a major mobilization. AT least a big section of the BJP leaders has begun sounding sympathetic to it.
Gujarat BJP chief RC Faldu, belonging to the same Patel sub-caste to which Keshubhai Patel belongs, Leuva, has said that the state government should “look into” the demand for quota for Patels and other poor families from other upper caste communities.
“Taking into account the sensitivity of the issue, we have told the government it is high time that it gave a serious thought to the difficulties faced not only by children of the Patidars, but also by children of economically backward families of other upper castes”, Faldu has been quoted as saying in Rajkot, which is the business nerve-centre of Saurashtra.
Earlier, a speaking at a ceremony in Dhari town of Amreli district, local BJP MLA Nalin Kotadiya, who had joined Keshubhai Patel’s now disbanded Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP), declared his open support to Patel agitation.
“Having been born in a Patel family and having been elected MLA by votes of Patels, it is my moral duty to stand by them. Therefore, if Patel community wishes that I should resign as an MLA and support them openly, I am ready to do so,” Kotadiya told a news channel. Kotadia also belongs to Keshubhai’s Leuva Patel sub-caste.
A senior politician from Saurashtra, meanwhile, told Counterview that the Patel reservation stir was “largely spontaneous” and “nobody was supporting it from outside.” When told that a report had been sent to Delhi which identivies circles close to Keshubhai Patel were behind the stir, he insisted, “This could be to please the masters that the real 'culprits' had been found.”
According to this politician, the main leader, a young man, Hardik Patel, 22, who is convener of the Sardar Patel Sevadal which is leading the stir, was on social media and supporting Congress MLA fighting from Viramgam constituency in Ahmedabad district, Tejashtree Patel, during the assembly elections in 2012-end.
“Very few in Viramgam saw Hardik’s social media comment, yet the Congress offered him to be in the party, which he refused”, the politician said, adding, “After Tejashreeben Patel was elected, Hardik, who belongs to a well-to-do family, began taking revenge from the BJP: The family was harassed post-polls for his support to the Congress.”

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

'Centre criminally negligent': SKM demands national disaster declaration in flood-hit states

By A Representative The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has urged the Centre to immediately declare the recent floods and landslides in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Haryana as a national disaster, warning that the delay in doing so has deepened the suffering of the affected population.

Saffron Kingdom – a cinematic counter-narrative to The Kashmir Files

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* “Saffron Kingdom” is a film produced in the United States by members of the Kashmiri diaspora, positioned as a response to the 2022 release “The Kashmir Files.” While the latter focused on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and framed Kashmiri Muslims as perpetrators of violence, “Saffron Kingdom” seeks to present an alternate perspective—highlighting the experiences of Kashmiri Muslims facing alleged abuses by Indian security forces.

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

From lazy to lost? The myths and realities behind generational panic about youth

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak Older generations in many societies often describe the young with labels such as “lazy, unproductive, lost, anxious, depoliticised, unpatriotic or wayward.” Others see them as “social media, mobile phone and porn addicts.” Such judgments arise from a generational anxiety rooted in fears of losing control and from distorted perceptions about youth, especially in the context of economic crises, conflicts, and wars in which many young lives are lost.

Counterview

Search This Blog