Congress, Hardik Patel Cheating People of Gujarat Over Reservation, Accuses Arun Jaitley

Ahmedabad: Stating that the reservation formula agreed upon by the Congress and Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel was constitutionally untenable, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday accused both of them of cheating the people of Gujarat on the issue.

He also accused the Congress of dividing the society for political gains ahead of the Assembly polls next month.

Talking to reporters in Ahmedabad, Jaitley, who is the BJP's election in charge for Gujarat, claimed that Congress's attempt to gain political ground through such tactics would eventually push Gujarat into anarchy.

He said the reservation formula for the Patel community is legally and constitutionally untenable.

"Whatever promised under that reservation formula prepared by them (Congress) is not possible as per the Constitution. Neither the Constitution nor the law permits it (reservation above 50 per cent). Both of them, those who promised it and those who accepted it, are cheating the people of Gujarat," the Union Finance Minister said.

He added that the people of Gujarat are smart and will never fall prey to such "deception".

Three days ago, Hardik Patel pledged his support to the Congress for the Gujarat Assembly polls after accepting the reservation formula prepared by the opposition party. The party promised to find a legitimate way to provide quota to the Patidar community over and above the 50 per cent cap set by the Supreme Court.

Without taking any names, Jaitley said the Congress leadership is falling prey to the anarchist forces.

"As the election is nearing, Congress is now trying to gain some ground by dividing the society. In a way, Congress has become dependent on those forces, which will bring nothing but anarchy. But, since the people of Gujarat saw such anarchy in the past (during the Congress rule), they will never go in that direction," he said.

"In the end, this election will be fought on two core issues. On one side, there is stability and governance, while on the other side, there is anarchy. There are two main combinations...Congress's combination has become a representative of anarchist forces. That is the reason why the Congress leadership has lost its way," he added.