Do you have girl friend? When will you get married?: Gujarat police to Hardik Patel during investigation
The Gujarat police is learnt to be asking strange questions to young pro-quota Patidar leader Hardik Patel, currently in Surat’s Lajpore jail of Gujarat on charges of sedition. Details of the questions asked during the police interrogation suggest, among the questions he was asked included whether he had a girl friend, and when would he get married.
Giving details of the police interrogation, a local Gujarati TV channel has reported, the policeman questioning Patel, who happens to be the topmost leader of the Patidar Anamat Andolan (PAA), told him, “Details of your horoscope published in a daily suggest your stars favour you, and you would become the chief minister of Gujarat one day.”
The policeman, belonging to the Gujarat crime branch, advised Patel, “I recommend you to leave the movement for Patidar reservation movement and join a political party in order to pursue your political career.” He even pleaded, “If you become chief minister, do not take a revenge against me, you may like to keep me for your security.”
The channel reports, this came to light in Patel’s affidavit prepared by his lawyer Jashwant Vala, who said, the details of his questioning suggest what type of “stupid questions” were asked to the pro-quota leader.
The policeman asked Patel whether the latter thought he was in for trouble for his utterances (allegedly advising Patel youth to kill a couple of cops), even as telling the leader that he seemed to be “innocent” and an “innocent person should not be punished.”
The policeman also asked him whom did he suspect had lathicharged the youths soon after the five lakh strong pro-quota Patidar rally ended, and that how could the chief minister order the lathicharge as she belongs to the same community as Patel, the youth leader replied, “Maybe it was chief minister. It is not clear who in the government gave the order.”
On a supplementary question whom did he suspend was behind the lathicharge, Patel replied, “May be it was Amit Shah.” Shah, a well-known Narendra Modi protégé, is the BJP president.
In yet another question, Patel was asked which party – BJP or Congress – helped him, Patel replied, “No political leader supported me, though I know most of the leaders, and I talk to them on phone.” Among the leaders he named included Uddhav Thakre, Nitin Gadkari, Keshubhai Patel and Nitish Kumar.
There also a question whether it was true he was offered Rs 1,000 or 1.200 crore for taking back his agitation, to which Patel replied, “We do not have an office, but BJP leaders would come to me with bags full of money.”
Patel has moved the Gujarat High Court seeking bail. His bail application came after the Surat district and sessions court rejected his bail plea on December 10. In the bail application submitted before the Surat court, Hardik claimed that he has been booked under false charges by police, as mere spoken words do not amount to sedition.
Meanwhile, the Patidar leader has admitted before the Supreme Court that some of the controversial statements he made during the quota stir were “stupid” but he never intended to overthrow the elected government of Gujarat through violence. He approached the Apex Court through senior advocate Kapil Sibal of Congress, as the Gujarat High Court has refused to stay sedition charges against him.
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