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BJP fumes after Hardik asks Nitin Patel to join Congress

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Dec 31, 2017, 01:02 AM IST
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Patidar leader Hardik Patel asked Nitin Patel to leave the BJP if the party does not respect him. Photograph:(Zee News Network)

The BJP rejected firebrand Patidar leader Hardik Patel's proposal saying that their party leaders are loyal and cannot be lured by anyone. 

This comes following Patel's offer to Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel to quit BJP along with 10 MLA's and join Congress for a more deserving position. 

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said that Hardik's statement should not be given attention as "he is fishing in troubled waters".

"I don't pay any importance to what Hardik Patel says because he is fishing in troubled waters. I think Nitin Patel is an old worker of ours and he cannot be made unhappy. If he is unhappy we should find out and try to remove is unhappiness," he said.

BJP leader Murlidhar Rao also slammed Hardik and said that BJP is party of loyal and honest leaders unlike Congress.

"This is BJP not Congress. Our party leaders are loyal and honest. They cannot be lured. We can resolve our internal issue among ourselves," Rao said. 

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who has been sulking since the announcement of portfolios in the new BJP government in the state, today said the issue was about his "self-respect" and would not join office till his "honour is restored".

"I have conveyed my feelings to the party high-command and I am hopeful that they will give a proper reply to my feelings soon," he told reporters.

"This is not about some departments, this is about self- respect," he added.

Patidar leader Hardik Patel on Saturday conveyed to Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel that he would talk to the Congress to "get him a good position" if he was ready to leave the BJP with the support of 10 legislators.

"If Gujarat Deputy CM Nitin Patel along with 10 MLAs is ready to leave BJP, then will talk to Congress to get him a good position. If BJP does not respect him, he should leave the party," Hardik Patel told the press Sarangpur, Gujarat.

(With inputs from ANI