BJP Trying to Kill me, Alleges Hardik Patel; Says Man Who Slapped me is Connected to Party

Congress leader Hardik Patel was slapped at Jan Aakrosh Sabha in Gujarat’s Surendernagar district in the wake of ongoing Lok Sabha Elections 2019. 

Ahmedabad: Congress leader Hardik Patel on Friday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ‘trying to attack and kill him’. His statement came hours after he was slapped at Jan Aakrosh Sabha in Gujarat’s Surendernagar district in the wake of ongoing Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

“BJP is trying to attack and kill me the same way Haren Pandya was murdered and fake encounters were done. Man who slapped me is connected to BJP leaders, you can see it on his Facebook profile,” Patel was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer of the state, demanding the Election Commission of India (ECI) to restore Y+ security for Hardik Patel.

Earlier in the day, Hardik Patel was slapped while addressing the public meeting in Surendernagar district. In the video of the incident, a man can be seen walking on the stage and furiously slapping Patel. As per media reports, he was taken into custody. The accused was identified as Tarun Gajjar.

Reasoning the attack, the man said, “My wife was pregnant when Patidar agitation happened, she was undergoing treatment at a hospital, I had faced problems then, I had decided then, I’ll hit this man. I have to teach him a lesson anyhow.”

He added,”Then again during his rally in Ahmedabad when I had gone to get medicine for my child, everything was shut down. He shuts down the roads, he shuts down Gujarat whenever he wants to, What is he? Gujarat’s hitler?”

The incident comes a day after a man hurled a shoe at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP GVL Narasimha Rao, when he was addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in the national capital.

The Lok Sabha Elections are being held in seven phases. The voting for the last phase is scheduled for May 19. The counting of votes will be conducted on May 23.