AHMEDABAD: The BJP has given tickets to two political figures accused of assaulting Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activist Medha Patkar in a peace meeting held at Gandhi Ashram in 2002. In its poll campaign, the BJP has been projecting Patkar as an enemy of Gujarat.
Amit Popatlal Shah, facing trial in Ahmedabad’s metropolitan court for assaulting Patkar, has been fielded by the BJP from Ellisbridge, considered a saffron bastion. He was Ahmedabad’s mayor between 2005 and 2008.
Amit Thaker, facing trial in the same case, has got the BJP mandate to contest an assembly poll for the first time. He has been fielded from Vejalpur, thought to be a safe constituency for the BJP though it has the country’s largest Muslim ghetto of Juhapura.
Thaker, who was a secretary of Gujarat’s Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), was made the president of Gujarat Chess Association after the alleged assault. Five years later, he became the national president of BJYM. He remained the co-convenor of the overseas BJP unit for six years.
BJP has been for long projecting Patkar as an anti-Gujarat element
In April 2002, Medha Patkar along with several social activists and journalists had gathered at Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad to appeal for peace in the aftermath of the post-Godhra riots. Patkar and others were allegedly assaulted by the BJP’s youth wing which objected to her participation in an activity concerning Gujarat.
Two other accused in the Patkar assault case who face trial include Delhi’s lieutenant governor V K Saxena; and a lawyer, Rohit Patel, who is associated with the Congress.
The BJP has been for long projecting Patkar as an anti-Gujarat element and strongly protested against her activities in Gujarat. Her name has been repeatedly invoked by the BJP ahead of the 2022 assembly poll to target the opposition. Recently, PM Narendra Modi publicly slammed the Congress for seeking votes in Gujarat when its leader Rahul Gandhi was joined by Patkar in his Bharat Jodo Yatra. Modi said Patkar was instrumental in stalling the Sardar Sarovar Dam project for over three decades.
Earlier, BJP leaders had targeted the AAP by issuing statements suggesting that AAP might field Patkar as a candidate in Gujarat. The claim was strongly denied by AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal.
Amit Popatlal Shah, facing trial in Ahmedabad’s metropolitan court for assaulting Patkar, has been fielded by the BJP from Ellisbridge, considered a saffron bastion. He was Ahmedabad’s mayor between 2005 and 2008.
Amit Thaker, facing trial in the same case, has got the BJP mandate to contest an assembly poll for the first time. He has been fielded from Vejalpur, thought to be a safe constituency for the BJP though it has the country’s largest Muslim ghetto of Juhapura.
Thaker, who was a secretary of Gujarat’s Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), was made the president of Gujarat Chess Association after the alleged assault. Five years later, he became the national president of BJYM. He remained the co-convenor of the overseas BJP unit for six years.
BJP has been for long projecting Patkar as an anti-Gujarat element
In April 2002, Medha Patkar along with several social activists and journalists had gathered at Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad to appeal for peace in the aftermath of the post-Godhra riots. Patkar and others were allegedly assaulted by the BJP’s youth wing which objected to her participation in an activity concerning Gujarat.
Two other accused in the Patkar assault case who face trial include Delhi’s lieutenant governor V K Saxena; and a lawyer, Rohit Patel, who is associated with the Congress.
The BJP has been for long projecting Patkar as an anti-Gujarat element and strongly protested against her activities in Gujarat. Her name has been repeatedly invoked by the BJP ahead of the 2022 assembly poll to target the opposition. Recently, PM Narendra Modi publicly slammed the Congress for seeking votes in Gujarat when its leader Rahul Gandhi was joined by Patkar in his Bharat Jodo Yatra. Modi said Patkar was instrumental in stalling the Sardar Sarovar Dam project for over three decades.
Earlier, BJP leaders had targeted the AAP by issuing statements suggesting that AAP might field Patkar as a candidate in Gujarat. The claim was strongly denied by AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal.