The Gujarat government claimed on Tuesday that Patidar leader Hardik Patel's quota movement was a politically-motivated agitation with the backing of the Congress.
This is for the first time that the BJP government has reacted to the agitation of the 25-year-old, who has been on an indefinite fast for the last 11 days, demanding loan waiver for farmers and quota for Patidars in government jobs and education under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.
In a statement, Energy Minister Saurabh Patel said, "Patidar quota agitation is a political stir backed by the Congress. Ever since the agitation started three years back, we suspected that the Congress was behind it. Now, our suspicion has come true."