Earlier today, while Hardik Patel was addressing a ‘Jan Akrosh Rally’, a man walked on the stage and slapped him. Following which, Hardik, too, lost his cool and had to be restrained by people on stage. After the slap, Hardik Patel had alleged that BJP was scared of him and was trying to kill him. However, the story seems to be different from what Hardik would want people to believe.
Tarun Gajjar, the man who slapped Hardik Patel has now come on record to explain why he slapped Patel.
Talking to ANI, Gajjar 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”.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1119158511835856901?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
He further said, “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?”
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1119160387142688770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It is evident that Tarun Gajjar’s motivation to slap Hardik Patel was not political but that of personal hardship that he had faced because of Hardik Patel. The first instance when that happened was during the Patel agitation when Tarun Gajjar’s wife was pregnant and had faced issues when she was getting treatment at a Hospital. He says the second incident was during his Ahmedabad rally when the roads were shut and he had a tough time getting medicines for his daughter.
Taran Gujjar explained that he had a problem with Hardik Patel shutting Gujarat down when “he wants to” while saying that Hardik thinks of himself a “Gujarat’s Hitler”.
Recently, the Supreme Court had rejected his urgent plea hearing to vacate the judgement in the case of rioting. Because his conviction has not been overturned, Hardik Patel will not be able to contest in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.