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'Have no plans to join BJP, but I welcome…': Congress' Hardik Patel
Last week, Patel had alleged that leaders of the Gujarat Congress were harassing him and wanted him to leave the grand old party.
Gujarat Congress' working president Hardik Patel said on Friday that he has no plans to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), amid rumours of him quitting the Congress months ahead of the assembly elections in the state.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Patel said, "News of my leaving Congress and joining the BJP has been circulating for a long time. But under the present circumstances, joining the BJP is out of the question. I've no plans to join the BJP."
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However, Patel said he welcomed the political decisions that had been taken by the saffron party recently including the revocation of Article 370 and the construction of Ram Mandir.
Patel added that he expressed his concerns to the Congress and hoped that the party high command would listen to his grievances.
He said that the opposition has to worry about the people and if it fails, they are looking for alternatives.
“We have to think of changing our strategy, I will say on the day when the political decision is ready. I come from a Raghuvanshi family, I have Hindutva. We have been associated with Hindutva for thousands of years. I have spoken of my concerns to the party. I hope the High Command will listen to me,” the Gujarat Congress working further said.
Patel reiterated to ANI that he will not join the BJP. “This is not even in my mind. The strength of the enemy should be acknowledged. It is powerful. And the enemy should never be underestimated,” he said.
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Last week, Patel had alleged that leaders of the Gujarat Congress were harassing him and wanted him to leave the grand old party. Patel said that he had taken up this issue with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi many times, but no action was taken.
Even though he refuted rumours of leaving the Congress, Hardik Patel got an invite from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Gujarat chief Gopal Italia to join Arvind Kejriwal's party.
Italia said that a party like Congress would not have a place for dedicated people like Patel and instead of complaining to the grand old party, he should join the AAP.
(With ANI inputs)
