Surat: BJP president Amit Shah along with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and other party leaders were booed off stage as the members of Hardik Patel’s Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti created ruckus and vanadalised furniture at a programme to felicitate Patel leaders here.

Chaos prevailed outside the venue as well as in Mota Varraccha area, where Patidar community members from the locality hurled stones at police.

The function organized by Patidar Abhivadan Samiti, supposed to be the show of strength of BJP in the Patidar stronghold, wound up hastily within 50 minutes with Patel leaders barring Shri Parshottam Rupala cutting short their speeches while Shah speaking for four minutes.

The ruckus started even before the commencement of the function with the Patel quota agitators raising slogans like “Jai Sardar, Jai Patidar” and hailing Hardik, even as they damaged furniture at the venue and flung chairs in air.

The programme was organised by ‘Patidar Abhivadan Samiti’, an outfit floated by a local businessmen, to felicitate Patidar leaders including the newly-appointed state BJP chief Jitu Vaghani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, Union ministers Purshottam Rupala and Manshukh Mandaviya.

Though police detained several members of Patidar community, the protest continued. The slogan shouting continued even when top BJP leaders like Shah and Rupani started their respective address, forcing them to cut short their speech.

While Shah wound up within four minutes, Rupani too spoke for more than three minutes.

The organisers declared the programme closed post Shah’s speech.

The function was organised in the Patel-dominated Mota Varraccha area.

Hardik-led PAAS and Sardar Patel Group (SPG) of Lalji Patel, who are spearheading the quota stir, had called upon their supporters yesterday to protest at the venue of today’s programme.

Local Congress Councillors were also holding regular evening meetings in Patidar populated areas for last few days asking Patidar community youths to oppose the BJP function.

Meanwhile the organizer of the progamme Mukesh Patel said the function according to him was successful. He said entire venue was full as per expectation. Hardly 5-50 people tried to disturb the function.

Police had to lob teargas shells to control stone-pelting crowds at Savji Korat bridge. Bus Rapid Transit System(BRTS) operations were stopped anticipating attacks on buses.

 

– With inputs from agency