Hardik patel
 Pictured: Hardik PatelIANS

Gujarat's Patidar leader Narendra Patel on Sunday held a press conference and showed wads of currency notes to the media, alleging that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attempted to give him Rs 1 crore to switch his party.

The allegations by Patel come just a day after two of the Patidar leaders joined the BJP on Saturday. Narendra Patel is the convener of North Gujarat, Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), of Hardik Patel.

Patel had lodged a police complaint against Hardik Patel and three other supporters last month in Patan, North Gujarat and had later withdrawn it. He said that another Patidar leader Varun Patel who joined BJP on Saturday evening took him to meet the Gujarat BJP president Jitubhai Vaghani and other leaders on Sunday, according to IANS reports.

"Varun took me around in Gandhinagar and then took me to Shree Kamalam office of the BJP and introduced me to Jitubhai Vaghani and some ministers. He then took me to a room and handed over a bag of Rs 10 lakh cash as token and promised to pay me Rs 90 lakh tomorrow after a party function which I was required to attend," Patel said late on Sunday.

Patel also said that he does not want the money and he had joined the agitation for the Patidar community. "The Rs 10 lakh given to me were not earned by hard work and I will be returning it to them," he said.

Reports state that Narendra Patel 'joined' the BJP a few hours earlier before he made the allegations, and was welcomed to the leading party in front of the media with a saffron scarf.

"It all happened in so much hurry, they immediately called the media to present me and I had to make that show," Patel said.

"They made a deal of Rs 1 crore on me. One crore? Even if they bestow the entire Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on me, I will not be bought over. Even if I have to die, fighting for the cause," the Patidar leader claimed.

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