Hardik Patel, the Gujarati Patidar leader demanding reservation for his community, said he was "arrested" by the Jaipur Police on Friday after he landed in the city. He took to Twitter to blame the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in the state for his ordeal.
Patel said he was told he was "arrested" because there was a threat to his life. It may be noted that people are often put in protective custody when there are threats to their life, and that is what may have happened here.
The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader also said on Twitter that a deputy commissioner of police (DCP) told him he had "orders from above" to arrest him. Patel, however, did not name this DCP.
Patel was in the city to meet Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal but was reportedly denied permission for it. Kejriwal is in Jaipur to hold a public meeting against demonetisation, which he calls Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs 8 lakh crore scam.
Patel and the BJP have been at loggerheads in Gujarat — the home state of PM Modi — where the PAAS leader has been lobbying for reservation for Patidars in education and employment. He has already tied up with Bihar Chief Minster and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar to campaign in Gujarat ahead of the Assembly elections next year.
Patel has also joined hands with Kejriwal to combat the behemoth that is the BJP in Gujarat. Given that the state has a substantial population of Patidars, and nearly all of them support Patel in his quest for reservation for them, he looks poised to be a force to reckon with in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections.
