Mahesana: Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal today faced opposition from the members of Patidar community during his visit to Umiya Mata temple, the most revered religious place of Kadwa section of the community, situated in Unjha town of Mahesana district in North Gujarat.

Kejriwal who is on a four day visit of Gujarat since yesterday, had gone to visit the temple this morning. To his surprise a crowd of local Patidar community had assembled near the temple and it chanted slogans and showed banners and black flags to him to protest against his controversial statement on Indian army’s surgical strikes on terror camps in PoK.

‘Pakistan Ratn Kejriwal wapas jao’ (Kejriwal, the jewel of Pakistan go back)- one of the banners read. The crowd also shouted slogans and termed his ‘Desh Ka Gaddar’ (betrayer of nation).

Tthe incident is seen as a major setback to his apparent attempt to woo politically strong Patidar or Patel community, Kejriwal also seemed sticking to his guns and continued his rhetoric of sorts on the over a year old Patidar quota stir.

Opposition of Kejriwal at many places in Gujarat had begun even before his arrival with posters and banners against him appearing at many places including Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Unjha. Some of them showed him with terrorists and termed him Hero of Pakistan.

Retired servicemen had also held symbolic protest against him in Surat.

Kejriwal also had a meeting with the family members of two youths killed during violent Patidar quota stir in August last year and also those of Nagjibhai, a police personnel who allegedly committed suicide owing to pressure created by bootleggers.

He came to Ahmedabad in the afternoon where in Bapunagar area he was shown black flags. Kejriwal will address a public meeting in Surat on October 16 to start his party’s poll campaign in the wake of next year’s assembly election in Gujarat and return to Delhi on October 17.

DeshGujarat