Almost dead on ground, Patel agitation now living in print, TV through newsy ideas

By Rupang Bhatt, Ahmedabad

In initial days, the agitation was for reservation and it attracted large scale support of Patel community.

In later phases, the agitation lost its direction and converted into direction less, harmful, disillusioned anti-BJP government battle with open political support of opposition party.

As most people started withdrawing, the agitation started surviving more in print, TV and social media, and less in terms of its geographical of mass spread.

Connecting the agitation somehow to major upcoming events was easy way to earn limelight in media. Narendra Modi’s USA visit and international cricket match were two upcoming occasions in pipeline that were tried to get limelight for days and weeks.

One of the headlines the agitation attracted in print, social media and TV was, ‘twenty thousand Patidars would march to United Nations headquarters in protest during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.’

Dozens of mindless fake stories were created, planted, circulated around this idea.

Then what happened when Modi reached USA?

The Patidar agitators supplied photos of the protest programme in which five persons were standing with banner in the morning outside the hotel in which Modi was staying in New York. In the evening during Modi’s speech in United Nations, 20 Persons were seen in the photos circulated to media. And same number in San Jose too.

In fact more Patidars were seen in another set of photos supplied to media by influential and prominent persons in New York who had reached hotel and airport to welcome Shri Modi.

Then the agitation, living more in media through fake stories rather than actual happenings on the ground attracted another headline that 20,000 Patidars had bought tickets of India-South Africa one-day international cricket match to be played in Rajkot on October 18, as they wanted to covert the stadium into protest place during the live cricket match.

There were scores of other headlines in media in connection with this, including a headline that Patidars would stop the buses of cricketers.

After days of different kinds of news headlines and huge publicity, actually nothing happened in or around the stadium during, before or after the match.

Now a small group of politically associated caste-fundamentalists wants to make maximum in print and on TV by milking Narendra Modi’s name in connection with his upcoming visit to Britain, and also by milking upcoming local body polls.

As it is somewhat remotely associated with very popular prime minister Narendra Modi and his Britain visit, even a small press conference by a few least recognized persons who were seen attending opposition Congress party’s event yesterday in Sabarkantha district in north Gujarat have attracted another dose of coverage.

These directionless persons who pushed Gujarat to violence will again eat dust on the ground, but continue to bump across with their innovative newsy idea to survive on print and TV.

So what if the days of big rallies are gone? Big media coverage continues.

The latest idea for which they are in coverage involves posting a letter!

One Varun Patel who claims to be the leader of Patidar agitation today in a press conference said they have sent a letter to the British PM David Cameron about alleged atrocities and police crackdown on Patel community in Gujarat. He also announced to stage a protest against Modi during his UK visit to highlight the issue. The press conference was also addressed by agitation leader Hardik Patel’s father who was also seen in Congress party’s event yesterday in Sabarkantha district with leader of opposition Shankersinh Vaghela’s son Mahendrasinh who is Congress MLA, and state Congress legal cell head BM Mangukiya. Hardik’s father yesterday declared support to Congress party in local body polls.

– DeshGujarat