Hardik Patel, a 22-year-old youth who brought life in several parts of Gujarat to a standstill with his massive Kranti rally in Ahmedabad demanding reservation for Patel community under OBC quota in the state, has now planned to take his agitation across the nation. Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Sunday, convener of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) Hardik Patel said he would take his “andolan (agitation)” seeking OBC status and reservation for the Patidars across the country. “Firstly, the Patidars will hold a mega rally in Madhya Pradesh on Monday, after which they will take forward their agitation to Lucknow,” Hardik Patel said.

“On August 25, I had said that our numbers in the country amount to 27 crore, who are dispersed across states. The entire 27 crore Patel community has to be brought together, and this movement will be taken across the country, wherever there are Patels,” Hardik said.

Speaking on how the agitation would continue in the coming days, “We are thinking of arranging a maha rally in Lucknow soon. We will also call Patels from across the country to Jantar Mantar. The movement will be taken to at least 12 states. Tomorrow, a maha rally has been organised in Madhya Pradesh against the manner in which the Gujarat Police entered homes and beat up people,” Hardik said. He is also planning to take his movement to the national capital, which he said would continue for a year or so.

He claimed that “our people” were ready to give his agitation backing in Delhi.  “The purpose of coming to Delhi today is that the Gujjar community, our brothers, arranged a meeting and called us. Soon, in Delhi too, our people will stand united and take the movement forward. Our movement in Gujarat will continue for one or two years, as it’s not a 100-metre race but a marathon. In the meanwhile, if we require muscle power from Delhi, they will support us, so that when necessary, we can get the highways blocked,” Hardik added.

“We are simply fighting for our rights, which should be given to us. People say our community is prosperous, but only 5 or 10 per cent of the community is well off,” Hardik said.

“The reservation system was put forward by political parties as an election plank. Because of this, the country has gone back 60 years. If you have to give reservation, give it to everyone. The poor of every community should be given reservation. Right now, our movement is limited to fighting for quota for the 85 per cent in our community who are poor,” 22-year-old Hardik said.

While claiming that reservations had “taken the country back 60 years”, the 22-year-old added that he was seeking the quota for Patidars as “the system today is hollow.” Stressing that the agitation did not have the backing of any political party, he said, “This is a non-political movement.

Hardik said, “Lakhs of Patel youth are turning out in large numbers because they actually feel the need for reservation. Sabko injection laga hua hain, dard ho raha hai (They all have been hurt, can feel the pain).

Hardik’s movement in Gujarat on 25th August resulted in rioting, forcing the state to call in Army to keep vigil of the situation. Central Reserve Police Force, State Reserve Police Force, BSF and Rapid Action Force were deployed across several parts of the state, including Surat, Ahmedabad and Mehsana.