Hardik Patel Breaks His 'Fast Unto Death' as Gujarat Government Remains Adamant
Hardik Patel called off his 'fast unto death' by drinking coconut water.
Gandhinagar, Sep 12: Patidar agitation spearhead Hardik Patel on Wednesday broke his 'fast unto death'. Hardik Patel was on fast for last 19 days to press for his demand for reservations to the Patidars, loan waiver for farmers and release of his aide Alpesh Kathiria, who is in jail on sedition charges. However, none of his demands has been accepted by the Gujarat government.
Hardik Patel called off his 'fast unto death' by drinking coconut water. “Hardik was determined to continue his fast. However, we requested him to break the fast and fight against this government," Manoj Panara, one of the conveners of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), was quoted as saying. The state government showed no inclination of talking to Hardik even after his health deteriorated during the protest.
Last week on Friday, Hardik was rushed to a hospital on the 14th day of his indefinite fast as he complained of difficulty in breathing. He was later moved to a private trust-run SGVP Holistic Hospital. He was discharged on Sunday, but he continued his fast from the hospital bed. Before his discharge, Hardik told his supporters through a Facebook Live message that he would continue his hunger strike from his residence. Medha Patkar Not Allowed to Meet Hardik Patel at Fast Venue.
On the ninth day of hunger strike, Hardik declared his will and made his parents Bharat Patel and Usha Patel his heirs, besides a gaushala in his native village Chandranagar in Ahmedabad district. Before his discharge, Patel told his supporters through a Facebook Live message that he would continue his hunger strike from his residence.
As a mark of solidarity, a large number of people from the Patidar community took out a march from Patan to Unjha, a distance of 30 km, in the Patidar-dominated Mehsana district in north Gujarat in support of Hardik Patel. Congress MLAs Lalit Vasoya and Asha Patel joined the "padayatra". People walked from Patan to offer prayers to their family deity, goddess Umiya, at the temple in Unjha.
Many noted personalities visited Hardik during his hunger strike such as Prakash Ambedkar, Shatrughan Sinha, Yashwant Sinha, Harish Rawat and Jignesh Mevani. However, the Gujarat government did not pay heed to his demands.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 12, 2018 03:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).