Former Hardik aide joins BJP

From community oriented, the agitation has now turned personality oriented. Funds raised to support the agitation have been misused to acquire personal wealth and pleasure.

CHIRAG PATEL, former founding member of PAAS

AHMEDABAD: Former founding member of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) Chirag Patel joined the BJP on Thursday, ahead of the assembly elections to be held in two phases on December 9 and 14.

Chirag, who parted ways with the PAAS about a year ago, is the third key member of the body to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after Varun Patel and Reshma Patel.

As deputy chief minister Nitin Patel welcomed him to the BJP, Chirag read out an open letter he had written to the Patidar community.

“From community oriented, the agitation has now turned personality oriented. Funds raised to support the agitation have been misused to acquire personal wealth and pleasure,” Chirag said.

He added, “The Congress has used Patidars as vote bank. It is also not promising OBC quota, for which the agitation began. There is no point in continuing the agitation or joining hands with the Congress’’.

Commenting on Patidar leader Hardik Patel’s alleged sex clips that went viral, he called them “a blot on the community”.

Chirag, who was earlier a member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was among six PAAS members — including Hardik — to be charged with sedition in 2015.

He, along with other co-accused, was granted bail after they submitted an undertaking that “they were sheep who were misguided by shepherd (Hardik)”.