Patels should decide on EBC reservation, says Hardik

Jailed quota agitation leader Hardik Patel on Monday said the decision to accept or reject Gujarat government’s move of giving 10 per cent EBC reservation to upper castes should be taken by the Patel community and not him.

Hardik, lodged in Lajpore jail in Surat, wrote a letter to Nikhil Savani, Convenor of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) of that city.

In the letter, he said Patel community should decide if it wants reservation under Economically Backward Class (EBC) quota or under the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota. “We will not make any compromise at the cost of our community. It will be the Patel community, not me, who will decide if we want EBC or OBC. We also need to understand what are the provisions of reservation under EBC quota (given by state government)” Hardik said in the letter.

“If our people firmly say that OBC is better than EBC, then we will definitely fight to get reservation under OBC quota. If they feel that EBC is good, then we will accept EBC quota,” he said.