Wasted three years of my life in Cong: Hardik

28-YR-OLD SAID HE HASN’T TAKEN A CALL ON JOINING ANY PARTY, ‘ BE IT THE BJP OR AAP’

HT Correspondent

AHMEDABAD: A day after resigning from the Congress, Patidar leader Hardik Patel on Thursday said he hasn’t taken a decision yet about joining any other political outfit but urged people not to vote for his former party where he “wasted” three years of his life.

Patel also alleged that the Congress never speaks on issues concerning Hindus and is “too much into caste-based politics”.

“I have not taken any decision as of now on joining any political party, be it the BJP or AAP. Whatever decision I will take, it will be in the interest of the people,” he told reporters here.

A BJP leader confirmed that the party had been in talks with Patel. Congress leaders have accused him of preparing to switch to the BJP to get multiple cases registered against him for the Patidar agitation closed.

Patel said: “The Congress never speaks anything on issues concerning Hindus, such as the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) or on the issue of a ‘Shivling’ (said to be) found in a mosque in Varanasi. Moreover, the Gujarat Congress is too much into castebased politics. I wasted my three years in this party.”

Patel, who joined the Congress a little over three years ago and was elevated as one of the working Congress presidents in 2020, resigned from the party on Wednesday, ahead of a possible move to the BJP to contest the state elections later this year.

In his resignation letter, the 28-year-old was sharply critical of the Congress and its leaders who he said, did not have a roadmap for the people and behaved as if they hated Gujarat and Gujaratis. “Hardik feared that he may have to go to jail in sedition cases if he stays in Congress. To save himself, he decided to quit Congress and he might join BJP as well,” state Congress chief Jagdish Thakor said.