BJP chief Amit Shah's
meeting with the leaders of the Patidar community in Surat turned into chaos
today, as the supporters of Hardik Patel chanting his name went on a rampage
and vandalised the furniture.
Shah was in Surat to
attend a huge rally by the BJP to honour the new Patel ministers in the government
led by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
The rally was seen as not only a show of
strength by the BJP, but also a signal to the Patidar community, which had been
on a collision course with the government over their demand for quota in jobs
and education.
The
unrest -- which took place at a felicitation programme organised by some
Patidar leaders -- started as Mr Shah came on the stage and Union minister
Purshottam Rupala was speaking. The crowds in the back row started chanting
"Hardik, Hardik" and soon they were violently breaking the chairs in
crowd.
The
police was called in, and they physically removed the trouble-makers from the
venue. Mr Shah spoke for only 6 minutes, by which time, only 20 per cent of the
audience remained. Around 40 Patidar leaders were detained.
The
red-faced party accused the Congress of creating trouble. "The programme
went on smoothly, only a handful of unruly elements instigated by the Congress
tried to disrupt it," said senior state BJP leader KC Patel.
