Latest news with #Patidars
Indian Express
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Gujarat Confidential: From Pillar To Post
With only a couple of weeks left for the upcoming the 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi festivities, commencing August 27, BJP corporator from Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), Jagruti Kaka, was on Tuesday seen urging the civic body departments to complete the 'resurfacing' of a 900-metre stretch of road in her ward to facilitate the transport of a tall Ganesh idol, by a popular local pandal, instead of having to travel a longer roundabout to get to its venue. Kaka, said that she had been asking the local ward and the Road Department officers to repair the said stretch for three days, as bringing the trolley with the tall idol through the uneven road would risk damage to it. Kaka was seen running from one officer to another on Tuesday with a 6pm deadline to have the road repaired. Meanwhile, the VMC officials said that it was impossible to complete carpeting the road in such a short time. Moreover, it would incur an expenditure of about Rs 10 lakh, which would ultimately need to be broken down post-monsoon for smooth levelling. Terming the trend of 'one child' and 'no child' among Patidars as 'fatal', Ahmedabad based Patidar socio-economic organisation, Vishv Umiyadham, requested the community to have three to four children. Addressing the community gathering in Kutch's Nakhatrana recently, Vishv Umiyadham President RP Patel said that since the numerical strength of the community is gradually declining, Patidars should have three to four children. 'If (our) numerical strength decreases, then (our) social and political strength will also decrease. If the political strength decreases, then the strength of Sanatan Dharma will decrease. With declined numerical strength, you will have to fight for your existence,' he said. Referring to the high cases of foeticide among the Patidar community, Patel said that it is no longer the case, but now boards will be put up advertising 'uncles' available on rent.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Patidar women in Morbi barred from joining mixed-gender garba classes
Rajkot: In an unprecedented diktat in the run-up to Navratri, the Patidar community in the ceramic town of Morbi has prohibited its women from joining co-ed garba training classes so that 'notorious' elements don't exploit the 'innocence' of females. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A resolution to the effect was passed with majority support at a massive congregation of various Patidar associations organised on Aug 2, attended by thousands, including politicians and local MLAs. Patidars, who account for nearly 70% of Morbi's population, have also directed the garba organisers not to open classes in areas such as Ravapar Road, Patel Nagar, SP Road, and Alap Society, where the community resides in significant numbers. Justifying the decision, Manoj Panara, president of Patidar Yuva Sena Sangh, told TOI, "This decision was taken after reports that some men joined garba classes only to target young women. When men and women dance together to love songs for three months in garba classes, it's natural that they may get attracted to each other. Some notorious people join these classes only to woo girls and exploit their innocence." As an alternative, the community has started women-only garba training centres at five locations, including Kanya Chatralay, Patel Nagar, Vaibhav Nagar, and Ravapar Road. The academies have been strictly told to employ only female choreographers for women, have separate training timings for men and women, and verify the identity of trainers and participants, considering the safety of the women of other communities who also join these classes. Sanjay Vyas, president of the Morbi Garba Classes Association, lamented the financial loss but said the organisers have agreed to comply. "They are in the majority, and we are all connected in business. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now We don't want to take responsibility if anything adverse happens," he said. There are 27 garba classes in Morbi, with a majority of them starting three months before Navratri, while around seven classes teach garba and other dance forms throughout the year. The associations have not explicitly spelt out how they would deal with violations of the rules, but said their members will meet the parents of the women flouting the decision and counsel them.
Indian Express
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
In Gujarat, Patidar pitch for Cong chief post grows as key faces reach out to Rahul Gandhi
Days after Shaktisinh Gohil resigned as the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president owning moral responsibility for the party's defeat in the recent Visavadar and Kadi Assembly bypolls, a slew of the party's Patidar faces have demanded that a leader from their community be named the new GPCC chief. At least 28 Patidar leaders from the Congress, including several former MLAs and MPs, met at a farmhouse in Ahmedabad on July 1, following which ex-MP Virji Thummar wrote to Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over their demand. The meeting concluded that as the Congress has long 'sidelined' Patidars in its Gujarat politics, the appointment of a Patidar leader at the helm of the GPCC would boost the party's prospects in the state, sources said. Some leaders claimed that 'a section of Patidars is not very happy with the ruling BJP, so they could return to the Congress if the party gives its leadership to a Patidar face', sources said. In the post-Narendra Modi period in Gujarat, the Congress put up its best performance in the 2017 Assembly elections on the back of the Patidar quota agitation led by Hardik Patel. Patidars, listed in the general category, are considered a politically-influential community in Gujarat, given their numerical strength as well as dominance in several major sectors including agriculture, trade and education. The community forms the core of the BJP support base in the state. Their alliance however came under severe strain during Patidars' 2015-17 stir demanding that the community be put in the OBC category and be extended the attendant benefits of reservation in government jobs and education. In the 2017 polls, the Congress won 77 of 182 seats while the BJP's tally plunged to just 99 seats. In the 2022 polls, however, the BJP regained the Patidar community's support, registering its best-ever performance by bagging 156 seats against the Congress's 17. The current BJP's Chief Minister is a Patidar face Bhupendra Patel. The Gujarat Congress has mostly been headed by the OBC leaders, its last Patidar president being Siddharth Patel, son of ex-CM late Chimanbhai Patel, who held the post during 2008-10. The tallest Patidar leader to hold the post and for the longest period was its first president Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who remained the GPCC president from its inception in 1920 until 1946. The last time a Patidar leader held a key Congress position in Gujarat was during 2018-2021 when Paresh Dhanani served as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader. The July 1 meeting of the Congress's Patidar leaders lasted for three hours, with the attendees including Virji Thummar, ex MLAs Lalit Vasoya, Lalit Kathagra, Gitaben Patel and Pratap Dudhat, ex-Mahila Morcha chief and Virji Thummar's daughter Jenny Thummar, among others. Senior Patidar leaders such as Siddharth Patel, Paresh Dhanani, and Ashok Adhewada, gave the meeting a miss due to 'personal and social reasons'. Sources said the invitation was extended to 34 Patidar leaders of the state Congress, of whom 28 attended the meeting. In his letter to Rahul Gandhi, Virji, former Amreli MP, stated: 'We are seeking an appointment with you to discuss the present situation of Congress in Gujarat and how the caste equation and balance are much needed… for the better performance of the party in the upcoming elections (and) for a more inclusive party politics. Please accept our proposal and call us soon for a meeting.' Talking to The Indian Express, Virji said, 'In the July 1 meeting, it was discussed how the Congress could get the Patidar community's support back, which was earlier a strong vote bank of the party. We concluded that if the Congress appoints a Patidar leader as the GPCC chief, the community could get reconnected to the party. There are over 11% Patidar voters in Gujarat. Patidars are financially strong, and other castes also support them. The community is very unhappy with the present BJP. If the community is given respect by making one of their leaders as GPCC president, we are sure they would return to the Congress.' Virji also said, 'Before writing the letter to Rahul Gandhi, I called up AICC's observer for Gujarat Mukul Wasnik and shared the conclusion of our community leaders' meeting… Wasnik said he has sent our meeting proposal to Gandhi.' Lalit Vasoya, ex-Dhoraji MLA, told The Indian Express: 'The GPCC president's post is lying vacant now and no Patidar has been chosen for it for a long time. So why can't we seize the opportunity and make our case to Rahul Gandhi.' Paresh Dhanani said, 'The Congress should appoint such a leader as the GPCC chief who is affiliated to the party's ideology. In Gujarat, political leaders indulge in casteism and communalism, but the voters do not believe in them. Patidars have been left out from the posts of GPCC president and LoP (CLP leader) in Gujarat for a long time, barring the stints of Siddharthbhai Patel and me.' He also said, 'In the 2017 elections, the Congress secured 77 seats, largely due to the Patidar quota movement, which had spread across the state. Patidars were unhappy with the BJP, so they backed the Congress. The Patidar votes are influential in 106 seats, which include 33 seats where the Patidar candidates from different parties contest against each other. If a Patidar is made the GPCC chief, it would impact the state's political equations and benefit the Congress.' Jenny Thummar said the July 1 meeting focused on regaining the Patidar votes for the Congress. 'The party appointed 41 DCC chiefs, of whom seven are Patidars. Our meeting discussed ways to support them and strengthen the Congress organisation. A key point was how a Patidar GPCC chief would bolster the party.'
Indian Express
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Patidar leaders list seven ‘social issues', to meet CM Patel seeking action
Former leaders of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) on Saturday said that they have listed 'seven social issues' to highlight before the state government and that if no steps are taken by August 25 — which will mark 10 years of the Patidar movement — they will organise a public meeting to raise awareness and seek public support. As leaders and conveners of the Patidar body met on Saturday, the poster boy of the PAAS movement, Hardik Patel, and AAP MLA Gopal Italiya skipped the meeting. Congress MLA Kirit Patel from Patan, former Congress MLAs Lalit Vasoya and Lalit Kagathara, and Patidar leaders from the BJP and AAP, conveners, co-conveners, and other PAAS leaders from various parts of Gujarat gathered at Sargasan on Saturday afternoon to participate in the 'Patidar Chintan Shibir'. Sources in the PAAS said that over 250 Patidar community youths and leaders graced the event. Sources also said that some topics were listed for discussion by the leaders. Discussions were held on making signatures of parents mandatory for marriage registration, online gaming, online gambling, ban on loan sharks, 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in local body elections, appointment of chairman of Gujarat State Commission for Unreserved Classes, making Gondal terror free, withdrawal of pending police cases against Patidars registered during their movement, addition of Karamsad in Anand Municipality and renaming it to Sardar Dham. Former PAAS state convener Dinesh Bamaniya said, 'We were expecting around 50 to 60 attendees, but over 300 people participated. In the coming days, we will take an appointment, meet the Chief Minister and present before him seven of these issues for his government to take necessary steps before August 25. If the government fails to take action, we will hold meetings to seek public support. I have filed a PIL in the Gujarat High Court for a 10 per cent reservation for EWS in local body elections, and the hearing is scheduled for Monday. The Sardar Patel Group and PAAS will work jointly.' Former PAAS convener and AAP's women wing president Reshma Patel said, 'The meeting was quite good as old friends met after a long time. The issues discussed were social and not related to any community. The issue of parents' signatures during marriage registrations is quite important. I am not against love marriages, but in many cases, a girl makes a decision after getting influenced by the other party. She suffers later and with no support from her community or parents, her situation becomes pitiable. In some cases, we have seen girls committing suicide. So we want the government to establish stricter rules for marriage registration.' 'Another significant issue was the appointment of chairperson of the Gujarat State Commission for Unreserved Classes. When the commission was formed, a chairperson was appointed, but after his term ended, no new appointment was made. Additionally, the funds allocated for beneficiaries in the commission remain unused due to strict and complicated procedures. We will request the government to simplify rules so that more people can avail the benefit and the funds are properly utilised. However, the other issues were equally important to us.'
Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
CPI (M) member, practising lawyer: Meet Satyesha Leuva – a 25-year-old woman elected Sarpanch of a Gujarat village
As the counting of votes was conducted for the elections of around 3,894 gram panchayats in Gujarat on Wednesday, 25-year-old Satyesha Leuva was elected Sarpanch of Vadvasa village of Prantij taluka in Sabarkantha district. Even as the gram panchayat elections are not fought on party symbols, Satyesha said she follows the communist ideology and is an office bearer of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Gujarat. Satyesha fought the election for the post of village Sarpanch, which was reserved for women of Scheduled Caste (SC) communities. Satyesha registered a total of 596 votes while defeating her two opponents, Savita and Pushpa, who got 492 and 236 votes, respectively. The village has a population of around 3,000 residents. The population is dominated by OBC communities followed by Patidars and SCs. Vadvasa has a total of 1,875 voting individuals. Out of them, 1,415 people cast their vote. A science graduate, Satyesha is a lawyer by profession and does her legal practice in Ahmedabad. Speaking with The Indian Express, she said that she is an active member of CPI (M) and is a secretariat member of the party in Sabarkantha. She is also a permanent invitee to the party's state committee. She is also the state secretary of Students' Federation of India, the party's student wing, in Gujarat. On her priorities for her village, Satyesha said that the village roads and street lights are an issue for Vadvasa, which she would like to address as an immediate priority. She also wants to work on proper disposal of garbage in the village and for those people whose housing units have been sanctioned, but not given so far. In the long run, she wants to have a health centre, a library and a gymnasium in the village. 'Our village is around 1-1.5 km away from the national highway. The frequency of buses to reach the highway is less. So, I want to have 3-4 electric rickshaws, which can ferry people from the village to the highway,' Satyesha said. According to Satyesha, she has been doing activism on a number of public issues. She has helped a number of parents, who could not pay school fees of their children for some reason, in getting the fees waived. In the past, she protested in Himmatnagar against the Hathras incident of the murder of a Dalit girl. Besides, she has protested against the National Education Policy. She also protested with reference to demolition near Chartoda Kabrastan in Gomtipur area of Ahmedabad. According to Satyesha, Vadvasa village was awaiting election since 2020 owing to the pending issue of fixing of OBC reservation in local bodies by a judicial commission. Since 2020, the village affairs were being handled by an administrator. Responding to Satyesha's election as Sarpanch, State Secretary of CPI (M) in Gujarat Hitendra Bhatt said, 'Our party is working for people. Ours is not an election oriented party. But in parliamentary democracy one has to go for elections if one wants to work for good. I am very happy with Satyesha's election. She is very active and I am sure that she will be successful Sarpanch.'
