New Delhi: Days after Hardik Patel's public outburst against the Gujarat Congress leadership, GPCC chief Jagdish Thakor invited him for talks to resolve the differences, PTI reported. The development comes days after Hardik Patel met a senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi and praised the saffron party amid speculation that he may jump ship ahead of the crucial Gujarat election.
"Hardik (Patel) tweeted yesterday. As soon as I learnt about his tweet, I called him immediately and said, 'we came to know about your grievances from the media. Let us sit down and talk about whatever complaints you have'," PTI quoted Thakor as saying.
On Tuesday, Hardik Patel tweeted, saying "there were others" who wanted him to leave the Congress.
"I am in Congress currently. I hope the central leaders find a way so that I continue to remain in the Congress. There are others who want Hardik to leave the Congress. They want to break my morale," Patel tweeted.
In the past two weeks, Hardik Patel has expressed displeasure with the state Congress leadership. Last week, Hardik Patel had said he had been sidelined and harassed in the Congress, and local leaders wanted him to leave the party. He said that he felt like a "groom forced into nasbandi (vasectomy)".
Thakor said he had reached out to Patel over the phone every time he expressed disappointment in the public against the party, asking him to meet and discuss the matter. Thakor said Patel has assured to meet him as soon as he is free from his prior engagements.
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"I called him last week, and again yesterday. Last time he said he was busy with the death anniversary of his father. Later, he said he was in Surat, and he will meet as soon as he is free," Thakor said.
"Dialogue is the best way to resolve differences, this is what we and the high command believe in," Thakor further said.
Hardik Patel, who shot to limelight as the leader of the 2015 Patidar agitation, joined the Congress in March. Recently, he praised the ruling BJP, saying the saffron party was strong because it had politicians with leadership qualities. However, he has clarified that he had no plans to join the BJP.
A few days back, Patel had told the media, "We will have to acknowledge that recent political decisions taken by the BJP show that it has a better political decision-making capacity. I believe that without praising it, we can at least acknowledge the truth. If the Congress wants to become strong, it will have to improve its decision-making capacity."